Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows
by ChickenGodofDOOM
Summary: How will Naruto's life turn out if he has access to one of Konoha's most secret jutsus? A jutsu with untold potential, combined with perhaps the ninja most suited to use it in the world? How deeply will it shake the Elemental Nations?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: This is strictly a work of fanfiction using character and elements from the _Naruto _world, created by Masashi Kishimoto. I do not claim to own them, and this story is merely a product of my own imagination, written not for monetary gain, but for my own enjoyment.

* * *

A luminous full moon shone its light down onto Konohagakure, the Village hidden in the Leaves. Usually at this time, the massive ninja village would be slumbering, a marked difference from its daytime transformation into Fire Country's bustling hub of commerce and military matters. Despite the clandestine nature of many of the local shinobis' undertakings, the civilian residents of the massive city rarely let that distract them from enjoying what would pass as a normal life in any other, non-shinobi village.

But on this particular night, October the tenth, instead of the usual comfortable, secure silence that blanketed Konoha during most nights, a cacophony of screams and yells pierced the night sky. Sporadic flashes of fire and lightning lit up the surroundings in intermittent bursts of energy.

The source of the pandemonium was immediately clear to most: a giant red fox, easily dwarfing even the substantial siege walls of the village, rampaged in the middle of the unprepared village. Most noticeable about the monstrous demon was the nine gigantic tails that swung chaotically, creating great scythes of chakra wherever they swung.

Even children were aware of the identity of this nigh-unstoppable force of nature. The Kyuubi no Kitsune had stalked and terrorized the defenseless expanses of Fire Country for as long as anyone can remember. Showing up even in the oldest shinobi annals, the Kyuubi had forever been a fixture of the land, an ancient and terrible guardian had roamed free before man ever learned to stand on two feet. But thanks to the evolving arts and skills of shinobi, the Kyuubi had been kept at bay ever since the founding of Konoha, through the use of intricate fuuinjutsu- sealing techniques.

The Kyuubi had then evolved from a rampaging demon lord into a series of terrible legends and myths, used primarily to scare unruly children. But on this night, there were no questioning of its existence. It was undoubtedly real, and undoubtedly very pissed off.

There was no time, no warning, as the massive fox appeared inexplicably in the middle of the village. It gave no quarter as it mindlessly attacked the surrounding houses and businesses. The shinobi responded as fast as they could, but unluckily, the Kyuubi had appeared in the middle of the civilian sector, and the ninja clans, where most of the firepower of the hidden village lay, had to cross the entire breadth of the enormous village in order to try and repel the beast.

Already some ninja had joined the battle, but their efforts seemed to be doing little more than enraging the beast. The flying chakra scythes soared, thicker and more numerous than before. The wildly flicking tails seemed to be the only indicator of the Kyuubi's obviously mounting rage as it still stomped and swiped at the buildings as methodically as before.

Suddenly, it turned and roared, a wave of chakra bursting from its gaping maw. The wave slammed into the buildings, and with casual grace, tore them free from the ground and sent them flying. The Kyuubi turned around from the decimated, near-flat swathe of destroyed land and moved towards the wall, obviously intending to destroy the village in an orderly and efficient manner.

The demon moved slowly, ponderously, in contrast to everyone else in the massive village, who moved with urgent haste.

* * *

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, gritted his teeth and poured on the speed, rushing towards the Kyuubi. He had been in the Hokage Tower when it had appeared, holding a last minute council with his former teammates. As soon as the reports had come in, he had gathered as many high-ranked ninja in the vicinity as possible, before rushing off with the contingent of shinobi to face the terrible beast.

Inwardly, he cursed the timing of the crisis. The current leader of the hidden village, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was currently out of the village, accompanying his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, who was due to give birth quite soon. This was an extremely serious blow the Leaf's battle capability, because the Hokage and his wife were two of the village's premier warriors. And as if to add insult to injury, two medic ninjas, including his own wife, Biwako (who despite being past her prime, was still an extremely proficient and accomplished shinobi) were assisting in the delivery. In an injury-intensive emergency like a bijuu's attack, the village could not even afford the loss of even _two_ medic-nins.

The former leader grimaced and brought his hand up to his mouth, biting his thumb and drawing blood. As the steadily expanding group of shinobi ranked jounin and higher crossed a rooftop, Hiruzen paused for a moment to press his palm to the tiled roof. A sealing matrix immediately spread out across the surface, and a pitch-black staff with gold-capped ends erupted from the ground. Hiruzen snatched the weapon out from the seal before it had even fully materialized and caught up with the group before they even realized he had stopped. The staff was the weaponised form of the Monkey King, Enma, one of his staunchest allies. Silently, the aged shinobi thanked his long-time partner for understanding his plight and acting accordingly.

The group of some of Konoha's finest sped steadily onwards, picking up more and more jounin and higher-ranked shinobi as they went on. The chuunin and genin that they passed were allocated to help evacuate civilians and protect key items in the village.

As they drew closer to the enormous, destructive beast, Hiruzen raised his arm, signaling the group to stop. He idly wondered why the beast was so ominously silent. Throughout his long life, he had witnessed quite a few bijuu/jinchuuriki attacks, and growls, snarls and roars had punctuated them all frequently. In this particular situation, apart from the sounds of destruction the Kyuubi caused as it crushed the defenseless village, and that one devastating roar, the demon had not made a single sound.

Deciding to ponder it later, _if_ he survived, the old shinobi pointed to one of the ANBU standing silently nearby.

'You, Bear-san. We'll be needing reinforcements, so…' Hiruzen paused, 'Hang on…'

The bear-masked ANBU sat back on his haunches patiently as he waited for his superior to finish. Meanwhile, the former Hokage clasped his hands together in a hand-sign, and with a near-unnoticeable flare of chakra, performed one of the most fiercely protected secret jutsus in Konoha.

'Splitting Shadows, Flying Leaves: Sensor Forme,' breathed Hiruzen quietly.

He winced as felt a flood of information hit him, but ignored it, silently bemoaning the fact that after using his crystal ball as an aid for so long, using his sensory abilities in their undiluted, most powerful form took quite a toll on his aged body. He glanced at his hand, which now held a spiky, black, tattooed numeral- '6'.

'Right,' he continued, after he had finished analyzing the information his jutsu had given him, 'There are two main battle-ready groups in Konoha right now… we don't have time to gather every single shinobi, so we'll have to make do with them. Bear-san, please get to Hanazaki Market as quickly as possible- Hizashi and Hiashi Hyuuga have gathered a band of their clansmen and seem to be fortifying the place with fuuinjutsu. But we need them to launch an offensive on the Kyuubi, so tell them to get to Kikyo Tower as soon as possible- my orders. We'll make our stand against the beast there. Also… you, Inuzuka… Tozuki, was it? There is a group of Uchiha, under Fugaku, and they seem to be going to the Shinobi Archives. No idea why, but go get them and relay the same message as Bear-san. If you head straight for the Ninja Academy, you should meet up with them there. Now, go!'

The bear-masked shinobi nodded and disappeared, while the Inuzuka, looking a little dazed, snapped a hasty salute and leaped onto his wolf-like companion, riding on it through the trees.

Hiruzen took a deep breath as he ran his hand through his hair, psyching himself up for what lay ahead. When he dropped his hand back to his side, the '6' was no longer visible, and instead, a similar '3' was drawn above his left eyebrow. This new number was much smaller than the '6', but represented something much greater- the Third Hokage's War Forme. Tempered in all three of the Great Shinobi Wars, the War Forme had been used (much to its owner's despair) much more than he felt would be appropriate. It was _this_ Forme, fully utilizing the potential of 'Splitting Shadows, Flying Leaves', which earned him the epithet, 'God of Shinobi'. It had devastated armies and crushed morale, broken bodies and shattered hope… to Hiruzen, his War Forme was a reminder of bloody things… things best left forgotten.

'Let's go,' he barked, now fully into the iron-hard, merciless mindset that the War Forme afforded him.

And so, the assorted group of shinobi, varied in both appearance and personality, followed perhaps the greatest remnant of the Golden Age of Shinobi back into war.

* * *

In a certain clearing in the middle of a forest, two dueling streaks flickered around each other in a furious dance. They twisted and spun and ricocheted all over the clearing… two streaks- one golden, the other midnight black.

The golden streak moved in sporadic flashes, erratic bursts of impossible movement that darted and snapped across the space, while the dark streak slid around in untraceable flickers- a graceful breeze, moving unhurriedly, untouchably.

Finally, after a particularly violent intense bout, the two streaks retreated to opposite sides of the clearing. There, with their movement stationary, the streaks revealed their true forms- two men, each resting on his haunches, glaring at each other across the clearing.

One of them had bright golden hair sticking out in spiky, undignified clumps all over his head, his pleasant face punctuated by a pair of intense, electric-blue eyes. He was wearing a white cloak with red flames adorning the edges, with typical jounin gear underneath that. Slowly, he stood up, flicking a kunai knife from his sleeve into his hand.

The other was as different from him as night was from day. Swathed in black, form-fitting cloth, and wearing an orange spiral shaped mask, the shinobi ran a black gloved hand through his raven hair, the distinctive clinking of chains being heard.

At some unseen signal, both warriors suddenly rushed towards each other, the dark one holding his now-revealed chains and the fair one brandishing his kunai and some sort of odd glowing ball.

Suddenly, with a rapid, instantaneous movement, the golden haired shinobi sent his kunai slicing through the air at his opponent, the blade moving so fast that it covered half the length of the large clearing in less than a second.

If we now take the time to examine the particular kunai that this shinobi threw, we would recognize that it was a particularly strange-shaped weapon. Instead of having the single, tapered blade that most ninjas favoured, this knife sported three tines, like a trident. The middle prong was perhaps a little longer than a normal blade, but the two flanking blades were slightly shorter, as well as having an outside curve to them. The last defining feature of this blade was that its hilt, which on normal weapons was wrapped in bandages to provide grip and reduce noise, was encased in a wooden block on which an intricate fuuinjutsu was inked. Taking all these factors into account, there could be no doubt to their wielder's identity, as these tri-pronged kunai were unique to one person only- the Fourth Hokage of Konoha, Minato Namikaze.

The newly identified Hokage, instead of watching his launched weapon embed itself in his enemy's head, continued to barge forward, his energy ball held forwards, ready to be thrust at his opponent at a moment's notice.

But despite the speed and force the kunai was thrown at, it did absolutely nothing to the black robed shinobi, slipping right through his head as if he were a mere ghost.

'Ha!' laughed the masked ninja as he felt the blade pass through his body, but didn't have any time to gloat before he felt an explosion of energy at his back and he was brutally slammed into the ground by a massive force.

Despite the sheer instantaneous speed at which the attack had been inflicted, the masked shinobi was a seasoned ninja with almost absurd amounts of valuable combat experience, and immediately used one of his unique techniques, spiraling away into nothingness and reappearing on one of the pillars of earth that had been created by the force at which he had been pushed into the ground.

He winced as he took stock of his injuries while trying to get a grasp of the current situation. The latter was obvious- the Fourth Hokage was standing where his opponent had been lying just a second ago, holding both the knife he had thrown and also the dissipating remains of the energy orb.

Pulsing chakra through his body to get a feel for the state of his body, the masked shinobi grimaced. His left arm was broken in several places as well as having deep lacerations- a result of landing on it when meeting the unforgiving earth at such pressure. He also had a crushed left lung, several broken ribs and internal bleeding. _That Rasengan is quite something, _he thought idly, as he shifted his stance to better protect his near-useless left side, _if he managed to grind that into me for a few seconds more, I might even have died. _

_Shlurk! _The masked shinobi's hidden eyes widened as he registered a stabbing pain in his stomach. Looking down, he saw the blond warrior thrusting one of his signature tri-pronged kunai into his belly. _Shit! _he thought, _he must have placed a Hiraishin seal on me while he hit me with the Rasengan! How many steps ahead is he thinking? _

Once again, the masked shinobi faded from reality, appearing a few metres away, on yet another upturned rock slab. He hissed as he coursed violent chakra through his coils and around his surroundings, purging both him and his clothes of any chakra-based seals that might have been affecting them.

As he did so, he realized with a sinking feeling that there was an awful sensation that something was missing. Something significant. Something larger than the biggest boss summons and possessing enough firepower to sink a continent several times over. The Kyuubi.

'You…' he hissed in rage, 'You placed a contract seal on me? Did you deprive me of my control over the Kyuubi?'

The infuriating blond man merely smirked. Crackling with anger, the masked ninja cursed as he felt his wounds begin to take his toll on him. Throwing a few parting words at his nemesis, he vanished with a pop and the violent shifting of space.

The Hokage, seeing that his enemy had left, immediately dropped his confident expression and disappeared in a flash of golden light.

Silence reigned for a few seconds, before the deafening howl of an enraged fox pierced the air.

* * *

Atop the intricately carved roof of Kikyo Tower, the Third Hokage glared at the colossal bijuu wreaking havoc all over his village, right in front of his nose. As he watched, his tight grip on Enma's staff tightened, until an ominous creaking could be heard. Abruptly, a humanoid monkey head burst from the golden caps adorning the two ends of the staff, wincing.

'Hey, hey, hey!' it yelped, 'Hiruzen, stop squeezing so hard! I may be as hard as adamantine, but you'll break me if you keep crushing the staff like that!'

The war-ready Hokage merely glanced at his summon coldly before easing on the pressure silently. The Monkey King, sensing the gravity of the situation, retreated back into his staff, his expression grave.

Hiruzen sent a look back at the shinobi he had brought with him. They were still a few kilometers back, as he had easily outstripped them in speed, even when he wasn't particularly trying. He waited patiently, gathering his strength, all the while tracking the Kyuubi with his stone-cold eyes, searing every attack pattern, every violent idiosyncrasy of the beast into his memory. The mind that had been called 'Professor' analysed the bijuu, dissecting its secrets, seeing through the façade of its rage.

'Sir! What are your orders?' asked one of the recently arrived Hyuuga, his eyes darting nervously at the tailed beast, as it rampaged dangerously close to the Hyuuga Compound.

Hiruzen lifted his staff and exploded into the air before anyone noticed, his emotionless words drifting back to them as if in a dream.

'Keep up the pressure.'

Confused, the group of some of Konoha's foremost warriors stared in confusion as they tried to figure out where their leader had gone. It was not until the two Hyuuga clan leaders, searching with their Byakugan, managed to divine his location.

Floating in front of the massive fox's house-sized nose was the wizened ninja, his staff held behind him with one hand, the other balancing his weight as he fell forward.

'Holy!' gasped one of the Uchiha, 'Did Hokage-sama jump all the way up there?'

Closing his eyes, Hiruzen swung the staff downwards with all his might, the black steel of his staff nothing more than a blur.

'Monkey Style: Variable Staff,' he muttered.

With a colossal _boom, _the fox that had been previously terrorizing the civilian area near Konoha's vast siege walls was blasted back, straight through the war-tested barriers and into Fire Country's mass of dense forests.

The Third Hokage rolled his shoulder in annoyance, as he glared at the now mountain-sized Adamantine Staff that hung in the air, still slightly smoking from the speed at which it had hit the Kyuubi's burning red chakra.

'Why didn't you warn me you were going to get that big?' he asked shortly.

The giant steel pillar quickly shrank back to its original size before Enma's head emerged again.

'Well,' he said with a shrug of his half-submerged shoulders, 'I figured you would need all the firepower you can get. It's a shame that I could only get that big, though. It was only about the size of Kyuubi's leg… Father could probably get as big as the damned thing itself when in Staff Form.'

Hiruzen reclaimed his weapon before replying, 'Yes, but Son Goku is both a bijuu and a Boss Summon, so it's probably a given that he can reach bijuu-size, no matter what form he's in.'

Enma gave a weary chuckle.

'Shame he got sealed… you could really use his help against Kyuubi, especially with Minato gone and all. Maybe I should go full size, to take him out?' he asked.

Hiruzen considered this for a second before shaking his head, explaining, 'The Kyuubi was thrown back a lot more than it was supposed to. Added to the fact that its not attacking in any of the recorded ways of the past means that it's not as strong as it normally is. Maybe it's being controlled, or something? Anyway, even in its weakened state, you wouldn't stand a chance against it, full size or no. You're not a Boss Summon yet, Enma.'

Enma silently nodded, accepting these points, and the two turned to watch how the shinobi of Konoha were handling the Kyuubi.

* * *

The Kyuubi snarled in frustration as it rolled up and regained it feet, no visible damage apparent from the cannon-like blast from the Third Hokage's attack. It shook itself, tails flailing wildly, before bounding forward again, straight towards the broken wall and the tiny forms (in comparison) of Konoha's defenders.

Swiping with a forepaw, the Kyuubi succeeded demolishing another section of siege-wall into dust, before a flare of chakra caught its attention. Flicking an ear in irritation, it turned to stare with blank eyes at where the flare had come from- Kikyo Tower and the bastion of ninjas clustered there.

Blinking in mild surprise, it watched as an enormous fireball descended towards it, looking as big and menacing as a falling second moon. Opening its jaws, the Kyuubi unleashed a sweeping chakra roar, unfazed by the immense, deadly nature of the attack.

But instead of dispersing the flames as intended, the wave missed completely, as the fireball seemed to _warp _around the sheet of dense chakra, dodging the effect of the technique.

Meanwhile, on the wall, every single Uchiha simultaneously changed from the Tiger handsign they had been holding to the Bird handsign.

Speaking as one, they intoned in unison, 'Uchiha Secret Technique- Fire Style: Descent of the Heavenly Phoenixes!'

Immediately, the great flaming ball that had been bearing towards the Kyuubi's head rippled and _exploded. _Hundreds of vaguely bird-shaped objects split from the flaming mass, large burning airborne missiles that pelted the great fox mercilessly. Every single 'phoenix' was about the size of a large human, and though this was tiny compared to the sheer bulk of the bijuu, the countless number of attacking chakra constructs more than made up for it, as they harassed and bombarded the Kyuubi. They exploded against its demon-chakra shrouded skin, exploding into viciously burning cinders and embers, before rising out again from the flames, burning even more brightly and passionately than before.

The Kyuubi thrashed and roared, stomping around mindlessly as it strove to rid itself of the multitude of burning gnats that beleaguered and worried at it.

But the rest of the Konoha shinobi had not been sitting idle while the Uchiha spent their chakra trying to impede the Kyuubi's progress. The remaining large faction in the group, the Hyuuga, had been forming into a line along Konoha's crumbling, yet still impressive battlements.

Together, they raised their arms as they gathered their chakra, the concentration of such intense, pure white energy forming into an opaque orb above their heads. Then, as the Kyuubi stumbled closer and closer towards Konoha, they started to mold the condensed chakra, flattening and shaping it much like how a blacksmith hammers iron to form a blade.

Then, as the great fox took a particularly sharp turn to try and shake away some of the flaming birds, the combined Hyuuga let loose the white chakra blade, sending it flying towards the Kyuubi's head, releasing a primal battle roar as they did so.

'Hyuuga Secret Technique- Eight Trigrams: God Slayer!' came the cry, signaling the technique's name.

The crescent of pure chakra slammed into the Kyuubi's neck like the blade of a guillotine, forcing it into the air. It almost turned a full backward somersault, landing onto its head, before inertia forced it to continue its journey, skidding across the land and destroying even more acres of forest.

When the chakra blade finally dissipated, the Kyuubi lay prone on its back, head buried in the canopy of the forest and its tails entrenched in the ground, deep gouges and rents in the earth a testimony to both the attack's force and the Kyuubi's mass.

But the battle was far from won, as the giant fox merely rolled over and scrambled onto its feet, still looking none the worse despite the combined efforts of some of the shinobi world's strongest powers. Roaring in defiance, it opened its gaping maw, allowing monochromatic spheres of ominous chakra to gather in front of it.

The Third Hokage, who had by now made his way to where the rest of the shinobi were standing, stopped and stared in horror.

'Yin and yang chakra. This is… a Tailed Beast Ball,' he murmured in shock.

He started to gather his own chakra, despite knowing that he couldn't possibly accumulate enough chakra to power a technique capable of stopping the destructive attack in time.

But just as the Kyuubi released the bolt of destruction from its mouth, he saw a small object (a twig or something?) fly towards the beast, like a moth drawn towards the sun. Putting it from his mind, the aged Hokage instead braced himself, his pitifully inadequate gathered chakra flaring out from him like an umbrella. He knew it probably wouldn't help him survive at all, but he at least wanted to go out fighting, displaying the Will of Fire like a true Hokage would.

He saw the blindingly bright meteor hurtle towards him… closer… closer… and then it was gone.

Blinking in disbelief, Hiruzen cast around to see if there was any clue to why the Tailed Beast Ball had disappeared. And it was not until the patch of forest several hundred kilometers away erupted into a devastating firestorm that he understood.

'Shinobi!' he yelled out to the equally confused ninjas under his command, 'It was Yondaime-sama! He teleported the blast! We need to back him up, now!'

As soon as he uttered those words, he saw the previously scared and worried men and women straighten their backs and square their shoulders. They set their jaws and went around preparing themselves for another assault. Even the Hyuuga and the Uchiha, who had been just seconds ago collapsed on the ground from their Herculean effort to try and stop the Kyuubi were wearily picking themselves off the ground. _It really is amazing how Minato manages to inspire such confidence in his troops. These young fellows are getting more and more impressive as time goes on, _thought Hiruzen fleetingly, the War Forme not allowing him to dwell very long on such idle thoughts.

The Kyuubi, who had been until now looking around, also searching for the effect of its attack, reared up and started gathering the dreaded yin-yang chakra again, forming another Tailed Beast Ball.

_Well, shit, _thought Hiruzen ruefully. His grip on Enma slackened for a second, before he tightened it with renewed determination.

'Hey, Enma, let's go with a Monkey Cannon,' murmured Hiruzen to his ever-present companion.

'You sure?' asked Enma, his head sticking out of the staff, 'That thing is a huge chakra drain, and the damage isn't really worth it.'

Hiruzen was already hefting the staff to his shoulder but took the time to reply.

'Yes, but it's the fastest thing in our arsenal that has enoughpower to destabilize a Tailed Beast Ball,' he said shortly.

Enma said nothing but merely opened his mouth, a golden glow started to emanate between his sharp fangs. Hiruzen turned to focus his undivided attention to the orb of menacing energy between the Kyuubi's jaws, having obtained cooperation from his weapon.

Shutting one eye, he slowly adjusted the staff until Enma's head was lined up with the Tailed Beast Ball, automatically reorienting to compensate for the Kyuubi's slight head movements in response to the immense pressure of the charging Tailed Beast Ball.

Just as he began to pour his chakra into the Monkey Cannon, Hiruzen was shocked as the Tailed Beast Ball he had been so diligently monitoring disappeared completely from his vision. Furthermore, even the Kyuubi's enormous head had gone! Moving back and dropping his staff, Hiruzen quickly scanned the battlefield for his colossal foe, ready for any tricks or deceptions.

It was soon evident why the Kyuubi had seemingly disappeared. It was now pinned under the undisputable bulk of a genuine Boss Summon- Gamabunta, the Toad Boss. The Yakuza-like chakra construct pressed down on his tanto, teeth clenched around his signature pipe, expression a very picture of seriousness and determination, a stark contrast to his normal jovial mood.

The tanto was being held back by two of the Kyuubi's giant tails, shaking violently from the strain, and the seven remaining appendages were wrapped tightly around the giant amphibian, holding it immobile. Despite the pressure that it was under, the Kyuubi continued to maintain the growing Tailed Beast Ball in its mouth, this time aiming at Gamabunta.

Focusing chakra into his eyes, the Third Hokage could only barely see the small figure that he knew to be on top of his distinctive summon and immediately bent forward, ready to rush to his aid. But it was soon revealed to be futile, as the massive bijuu, the almost-completed Tailed Beast Ball and the Toad Boss all disappeared in a flash of blinding golden light.

* * *

The Third Hokage slumped to the ground in exhaustion. The constant vigilance that the War Forme forced on him was really taking a toll. He wanted nothing more than to roll over and go to sleep- even the rough tiles of Kikyo Tower seemed like an ideal resting spot. With a sigh, he raised his hands and released the technique.

'Splitting Shadows, Flying Leaves: Normal Forme,' he affirmed.

He hissed as he felt his senses dull and his muscles involuntarily relaxed. While Normal Forme did not place any discernable strain or pressure on his body or mind, the process of changing Formes was a distressing and uncomfortable sensation in a crisis situation, especially for a veteran warrior like Hiruzen, who appreciated and even welcomed the alertness afforded by War Forme.

The feeling of vulnerability and weakness pervaded Hiruzen's mind, even though he knew that even his Normal Forme was more than a match for all shinobi Sannin-level and above. But thinking upon the terrible powers and strength of the foe Konoha now faced, the Third Hokage could not help but think that even if he could keep his War Forme perpetually activated, it would not make the slightest bit of difference.

'Umm… Sandaime-sama?' asked a female jounin tentatively.

'Yes?' responded Hiruzen kindly.

'Why aren't we helping out Yondaime-sama? He probably needs our help, right now!' she exclaimed with worried passion.

'Well, Azuki-chan, the thing is, we don't actually know where Minato is at the moment. That's the trouble with his Hiraishin.'

'Oh,' she said, crestfallen.

But she soon perked up and waved her arm, pointing at the curly '4' inscribed on her bicep.

'Sandaime-sama, don't you have a Sensor Forme? Can't you use that to find Yondaime-sama?' she implored.

Hiruzen winced, with a regretful expression on his face.

'Well,' he explained sadly, 'I developed the Sensor Forme after I became Hokage. As such, it was created more in the interests of village security than being an actual sensor ability. I have unrivaled monitoring of anything inside the actual village walls, but other than that, its useless.'

The jounin sighed dejectedly and sat down next to Hiruzen… only to start as he leaped up, no signs of fatigue showing.

He pointed over to the west, where, in the far distance, an explosive blast detonated. It was extremely far away, almost on the horizon, but the sheer intensity of the explosion was like a miniature sun forming. It expanded in a perfect dome, and even at this distance, the heat and energy given off whipped across the watching shinobi's faces and bodies in an uncomfortably hot breeze.

The shinobi all reflexively covered their eyes as the blinding white light threatened to render them temporarily blind. One or two Hyuuga and Uchiha were a tad too late in deactivating their kekkei genkai, and writhed on the ground in pain, clutching their eyes.

Even as the assembled ninja started to recover from the shock of watching such as powerful phenomenon, the Third Hokage was already in the air, his hands already locked in a familiar handsign.

'Azuki-chan!' he yelled, 'get the other ninja and follow me! I'm going to back up Minato! Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows: Speed Forme!'

The jounin didn't even have enough time to shout an affirmative, as the Third Hokage had already disappeared, not a trace of remaining. She scratched her head in puzzlement._ Did Sandaime-sama just teleport? _

She then processed her superior's request and looked back at the disorganized rabble of shinobi, who were currently abuzz with chatter and speculation. Arms waved and fingers pointed as they tried to pinpoint the cause of the devastating eruption to the west.

Azuki sighed, before violently flaring her chakra, a turbulent outpouring of energy, packed full of killing intent and steel-like determination.

'**Shut up and listen to me!**' she roared.

Instantly, every shinobi present fell silent, mouths and fingers frozen in space. Azuki made a half-mortified expression at having the attention of so many high-ranking and respected ninjas (including quite a few Clan Heads and Clan Heirs) but ploughed on, mindful of the Third Hokage's wishes and the rapidly dwindling time.

With a sweet smile on her face (a stark contrast to her earlier demonic visage), she started to explain hurriedly.

'Um… Sandaime-sama asked me to marshal all field-ready shinobi to confront the Kyuubi. As you might have guessed, the… uh… explosion, I guess… was the Tailed Beast Ball that the Kyuubi was charging. Yondaime-sama must have teleported it with his Hiraishin, so that none of us could get hurt. Sandaime-sama has already left to assist Yondaime-sama, to confront the beast and finish it, away from Konoha and the civilians. I will give you all thirty seconds to get ready and then we'll be leaving. Time is running out, and we cannot leave everything to the Hokages,' she said meekly.

Immediately, the shinobi all sped into a flurry of movement, checking and restocking weapons and scrolls, seeking makeshift medical attention from the few medic-nins around and warming up their tired muscles.

Azuki glanced worriedly at the west, where numerous forest fires had sprung up, making an unmistakable beacon for the shinobi to head for. _Please, _she thought, _hang in there, Yondaime-sama. Please make it in time, Sandaime-sama._


	2. Chapter 2

The Third Hokage moved through the forest at such a speed he was no more than a blur, even to those with specialized ocular advantages like the Sharingan and the Byakugan. Not that there were any present, of course, they were all several hundred kilometers behind, still trying to catch up to him.

If one looked closely, they would soon realize that the venerable ex-leader of the Leaf was not utilizing the favoured tree jumping technique that was used conventionally by ninjas when travelling through the forests, but instead was _running on air. _Furthermore, there was no chakra involved at all- the Third Hokage was simply moving so fast that even gravity couldn't catch up to him.

The Third rarely used his Speed Forme in actual combat- he much preferred the much safer method of exploiting his quicksilver mind and enormous repertoire of jutsu to crush an opponent, as befitting his title of 'the Professor'.

_Tch, _Hiruzen thought, _Minato, just hold on. I'll be there soon. Don't do anything reckless. The villagers can't lose their Hokage so soon after he was elected… I'm too old to be the leader again. You _have _to survive!_

As he steeled his determination even further, he started to _really_ pour on the speed, beginning to push the limits of how fast he could safely go in Speed Forme. He felt heat begin to lick at the extremities of his body, and blackness begin to encroach on the edges of his vision, but he simply couldn't bring himself to care.

While before, an average civilian or even an average ninja would not notice anything except a slight breath of air to signal Hiruzen's extraordinarily fast progress, now it would have been blindingly obvious, as that breath of air had grown into a hurricane-like gale, and broken branches and smashed wood littered his path.

Hiruzen could no longer afford to control his blistering flight path- the speed had exceeded the corresponding lightning-quick reflexes that had also been granted by the Speed Forme. So, instead, he just smashed through anything that stood in his way, heading straight towards his destination, relying only on the kinetic energy and a thin layer of chakra to protect him from any impacts or debris.

He felt bones creaking and skin stretching, yet Hiruzen continued to accelerate, blitzing through Fire Country's expansive forest, leaving a wide swathe of destruction that would (probably) lead the reinforcements straight towards the critical battle.

Suddenly, Hiruzen, as if in a hazy dream, saw the thick, solid tree trunk explode into his field of vision, approaching terrifyingly fast. The old ninja immediately applied the brakes, knowing instinctively that the tree, being one of the sturdy Ancients in Fire Country's Old Forest, would be the hands-down winner in a head-on collision with the speeding Hokage. It didn't matter that Hiruzen had enough momentum to plow through most objects without feeling a thing- because the Ancients were the material used to construct Konoha's own almost-impenetrable siege walls. No known, viable method existed of cutting or breaking down Ancient wood existed- Hashirama, the First Hokage himself, had only created the walls through his unique wood style jutsus. Nothing short of a bijuu or Boss-level Summon was capable of damaging the wood, and even if they did, the First Hokage had wisely put away an enormous stash of the fire-retardant wood underneath the village, a contingency for rebuilding after such an attack.

Knowing this, Hiruzen tried desperately to slow his progress, his chakra blanketing the area in front of him, futilely trying to get a solid object to resist. But the enormous amount of inertia blasted the Hokage forward, straight towards the Ancient with no discernable slowing of his speed, the chakra doing absolutely nothing to mitigate his impending doom.

_Damn! _snarled Hiruzen mentally, _it can't end like this! I can't die here! Minato needs me! _Konoha_ needs me!_

But despite his final last-ditch efforts, Hiruzen still hurtled towards the unforgiving bark of the Ancient, which might have been made of steel for all it would have mattered. While crashing into an Ancient even at normal speed would be extremely dangerous, at the near light speed the Hiruzen was blasting along at, it was a certain death sentence.

Compounding the situation was Hiruzen's use of the Speed Forme. While using it, his resilience and defense took a drastic nosedive until such that a good hit from even a chuunin could take him out. Of course the godlike speed and reflexes that were offered in exchange were usually enough to prevent this from happening. Unfortunately, with no time to dodge the tree, use a jutsu, brace himself or change to a defense orientated Forme, the Third Hokage resigned himself to his fate, idly thinking what an embarrassing way to go out, especially for a war legend like himself.

The Third Hokage watched the Ancient come closer, closer… and _whoosh! _Hiruzen blinked in shock and disbelief as his vision went tumbling end over end alongside his body, cart wheeling in space at supersonic speeds.

_What the fu- _was all he could think before he slammed into a branch (thankfully not an _Ancient _branch). Thinking quickly, and using the superhuman reflexes of the Speed Forme, he grabbed the branch and swung himself into a crouch, trying to calm his racing heart. But by pausing, he almost let himself get caught in the side effects of his blistering speed.

He felt the rush of air crush him, almost dislodging him from his perch. Inertia was almost inescapable, but luckily, the chakra from his feet kept him stable. He felt his ears experience the rushing sound that preceded the popping of the eardrums, but he quickly shielded them with another judicious application of chakra. Several sonic booms erupted around his body, and the few trees around him were instantly stripped of their leaves.

While Hiruzen was proficient in using and controlling his Speed Forme, it was his first time going at such a risky speed, and this, coupled with his confusion at his sudden, unexpected escape from death nearly made him lose his balance. This could have cost valuable seconds, or worse- could have injured him so that he was useless, right at the time when his successor needed him the most.

He glanced around, deciding to spare a few moments to figure out why he wasn't a smear on the bark of the Ancient. He needed to be careful with unknown variables- what if it was a hidden enemy?

Turning a full 360˚, he soon realized that Enma was no longer in his hand. He spun around to search for him, and saw only the last traces of disappearing smoke. Mind moving at a hundred miles per hour, 'the Professor' soon put everything together.

Seeing his master in danger, Enma had evidently materialized an arm or two out of his staff to violently push him out of harm's way. Of course, this was not a risk-free procedure, as the arms of the Monkey King had taken the full brunt of the impact for a whole second, if not more. Even if Enma was as hard as adamantine, not even that could withstand the sheer indestructibility of an Ancient.

Turning back around, Hiruzen silently thanked his longtime conpanion. He briefly considered resummoning Enma, but decided that it wasn't worth the chakra cost- there was very little the summon could do against the Kyuubi, after all.

Crouching down to try and get a little speed, the Third Hokage once again exploded into a streak of light, sonic booms and disturbed leaves the only evidence of his passing.

* * *

The Third Hokage burst through the dense canopy and landed in the enormous clearing where the Kyuubi stared down Minato and his wife, Kushina. Then his jaw dropped as he realized where he was standing. He was standing on the edge of a mind-bogglingly huge crater, which was still warm from being gouged out of the ground with sheer power. The trees that ringed the crater, including the ones he had just exited, were on fire, a blazing circle of silent witnesses to the historic showdown in front of them. This was evidently the same place where the Fourth Hokage had detonated Kyuubi's Tailed Beast Ball. Hiruzen shivered in relief involuntarily as he imagined what Konoha would look like after taking a blast of this size.

The titanic fox itself was currently tied down with vast loops of Kushina's unique Chakra Chain technique, which anchored it down securely to the ground, a testimony to the awesome power of the Fourth Hokage's chosen woman. _Typical of the Uzumaki clan, _he thought, _to be able to use Chakra Chains to this extent. Any normal jounin might only be able to create a normal, rather fragile length of chain, but Kushina can make enough chains to immobilize a Boss Summon sized creature. Not to mention resilent and strong enough to hold the likes of Kyuubi. _

Smiling grimly, Hiruzen changed Formes again, quickly trying to take the pressure off the couple in front of him. No matter how god-like the two shinobi were, no one could seriously expect them to take on the Kyuubi, the only tailed beast that had never lost to other bijuu. It was the ultimate, unrivaled force of destruction that walked the Elemental Nations, never to be faced with the threat of defeat.

'Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows: Damage Forme,' he spat, his chakra unintentionally flaring out around him, in quantities so great that even the Kyuubi, a fount of almost infinite energy, glanced over in what looked like shock.

Hiruzen grinned sadistically, his body now covered in a dense, thick layer of chakra that only vaguely looked human shaped. It flowed around him like water, creating a bulky, armour-like miasma that flowed and undulated without losing volume. Even more chakra billowed out and escaped into the air, creating a luminous column of energy that pierced the clouds and joined the moon.

He raised his hand, an action which seemed pathetically slow, compared to his earlier unfathomable speed. But he persevered, and his fingers slowly arranged them in an unconventional cross shape.

'Shadow Clone Jutsu!' he cried, as a copy of him materialized violently next to him in a cloud of smoke and wind. Immediately, a second explosive plume of chakra erupted from the clone, creating another pillar of energy that rose into the air- two giant beams that seemed, on this bloody night of screams, to be the gate to the next world.

The Damage Forme of the Third Hokage was really quite something. Sacrificing almost all athletic ability, it focused on mid-to-long ranged chakra-based attacks. Hiruzen's chakra capacity and control was boosted to almost ridiculous levels, but in return, he was at the risk of death if even a solid punch from a chuunin got through his attacks. His crippling fragility and extremely slow speed and defense was the reason why Hiruzen held back on using it often, because, as the Hokage, he had a responsibility to the people to keep himself alive.

However, after obtaining the Damage Forme, Hiruzen, ever the perfectionist, strove to learn jutsus that could counteract the weaknesses of the form. With chakra no longer being an issue, he could blow as much energy and effort into speed attacks and defense as he wanted, even forming some seallessly to overcome his slow hand-sealing rate. He could make a simple chakra film hold enough defense to be comparable to the imposing gates of Konoha themselves if he wished. No one save for jinchuuriki, who drew on the near limitless chakra of their imprisoned bijuu, or chakra monsters such as Kisame Hoshigaki and the members of the Uzumaki clan could ever match the sheer chakra that he had at his disposal. Still, it was rather risky when compared to the less radical, yet still quite powerful Formes he could use.

But now, with perhaps the most reliable back up in the entire shinobi world, the Third Hokage could really let loose and fire off a few attacks that not even a bijuu could ignore.

Both he and his clone started making hand-signs rapidly; ready to unleash one of the strongest moves in his arsenal. Hiruzen smirked. While technically, he didn't need to use hand-signs at all in this Forme, especially for a fire-type technique like the one he was planning to attempt, he thought it would be prudent to gather as much power as possible.

Feeling the familiar warmth gather and spread from his throat to all throughout his body, he held the fire-natured chakra inside his body, building up pressure and momentum. While most fire-users preferred to change their chakra to flame _outside _their body in order to avoid harming themselves, the third Hokage had such unrivaled control over fire (having used them for nearly 70 years with great proficiency) that he could afford to transform them internally, to achieve the greatest effect and power.

His clone was taking a little longer, due to his relative unfamiliarity with the wind element he was converting his chakra to. Hiruzen smiled again, eager to see the effects of this devastating attack on the likes of Kyuubi. Immature, he knew, because of the precarious situation they were in, and but pride and battle lust still flowed throughout his veins after lying dormant for many years of remaining desk-bound inside the village.

Seeing his clone finish, he gestured with his head, lips tightly clenched shut to prevent any flicker of flame escaping. His clone acknowledged the signal and as one they opened their mouths and let loose two massive torrents of their respective elements, fire and wind, each billowing around like enormous tsunamis, mixing together and combining to form an all-encompassing, devastating firestorm.

'Fire and Wind Collaboration: Cremation in a Sea of Flames!' yelled the two Hiruzens simultaneously, after they had expelled all the energy from their lungs.

The deluge hungrily made its way over to where the Kyuubi was, eagerly devouring everything in its path. The flaming expanse engulfed the entire clearing in only a few seconds, its sheer volume allowing it to even hide the Kyuubi under its burning embrace. Hiruzen smirked; knowing that Minato was sure to have escaped with Kushina- the Hokage was extremely vigilant and observant, one of the reasons why he had not yet succumbed to any of the many assassination attempts that had been carried out by rival villages.

Hiruzen, having quickly jumped into the treetops as soon as he had released the technique, waited eagerly to see the results of his attack- the Kyuubi writhing in pain, or perhaps had half its fur scorched off… or something, at least. But when the flames settled a little and he finally saw the damage his technique had done, his jaw dropped. To his shock and disbelief, the raging flames had conformed to the shape of an enormous circular dome around the clearing.

The flames ate angrily at the surface of the obstruction, but were doing no visible damage. Despite the lack of damage they were doing, they still burned as brightly on the dome as they did on the ground.

Hiruzen snarled angrily as he realized what had happened. The defense was too controlled and accurate to have been created by the primal, untamed Nine-Tails. The perfectly circular dome, created with enough power to resist even an SS-class fire technique… it had to be the art of sealing- fuuinjutsu. And there was only one person inside the barrier who logically could have created it. While Kushina could have easily done it, she seeming to be in a critical condition, not at all looking like she had the strength to pull off a complicated sealing array like an impenetrable barrier- she _did _just have a giant fox pulled out of her stomach, after all. It _had _to be Minato.

_But _why _did Minato throw up a barrier? _thought Hiruzen, puzzled. _Why did he cut himself off from reinforcements? Does he think he can defeat the Kyuubi by himself? Impossible! He trapped himself, alongside his wife with perhaps the strongest being in this entire world! Its not even a question of strength, anymore! The comparative levels between Minato, said to be one of the strongest among the shinobi, and Kyuubi, the strongest of the demons, cannot be measured! They aren't even on the same scale! He's weaker by an order of magnitude! Is he insane? Not to mention his newborn son, Naruto is in there… Wait a minute… Naruto? Shit… shitshitshit! He can't be thinking of using…_

Just then, the third Hokage felt a tempestuous focusing of chakra, coming from inside the dome. Although it was no flashy energy flare like his own earlier one, this one felt no less powerful, the calmness and serenity it held actually accentuating a sense of wickedly honed lethality.

Still, to Hiruzen's finely tuned senses, he could feel a tinge of regret or sadness affecting the chakra. And then he knew, without a doubt, what method his successor was going to attempt to bring down the Kyuubi with.

_Shit! _he thought. _Don't do this, Minato! There are other ways of stopping the Kyuubi! You don't have to die… you can't die!_

He moved to leap down to try and do something… _anything…_ to help out his fellow Hokage, but he soon realized that the ground was still enveloped in searing flames. They danced and snapped, about thigh high above the ground, burning so hot that Hiruzen knew, if he jumped into the chakra-enhanced inferno, fire affinity or not, he would burn into a crisp straight away.

Hissing in annoyance, he raised his hands, all signs of good humour gone.

'It's been a while since I used this one as well, but… screw it, let's go,' he murmured to nobody in particular, 'Fire Style: Emperor of Flames_._'

* * *

Minato glanced up in shock from the elaborate and lengthy string of hand signs he was making as a pure red swept across the sky and tinted everything a sinister crimson. He had felt, with his limited sensor abilities, the Third Hokage charging up attack from behind him but had never imagined it would be something on this scale. He looked worriedly at his carefully constructed seal barrier, seriously concerned whether it would hold up against the onslaught or not. It wasn't designed to withstand attacks of this power. Hell, attacks of this power were not even meant to exist! Thankfully, the chakra conversion seals in the matrix managed to reconvert the pressure and heat into reinforced chakra shields, holding the barrier in place.

Sighing in relief but never pausing in his furious hand motions, Minato silently thanked the gods that Kushina had used some of the Uzumaki clan's spiral-style sealing to construct this barrier design with him. He knew that without that, his own design would have proved pitifully inadequate in blocking the previous Hokage's devastating fire jutsu. S-class or higher, he estimated, in awe in spite of himself. He knew that even _he _did not have a technique on par with it in terms of pure destructive power, even when accessing his own Damage Forme.

Thinking back on the times when he had perused and contributed to Forbidden Scroll, he deduced it was probably the Third's Cremation in a Sea of Flames, a technique that had been developed and debuted in the First Shinobi World War. It was part of the reasons why Konoha had ultimately won the conflict, and it also helped in cementing the Third's reputation as 'the God of Shinobi' and also as a respect-worthy Kage, as he had gained that title only during the war itself.

It was one of several techniques used by the Third during that war and then subsequently sealed away for peacetimes. Some of its brother techniques included the likes of 'Emperor of Flames', 'Advent Guard' and 'Asura: Three Phase Flame', all of which were classified as high S to SS class. Minato had seen detailed analyses of the techniques, but dared not to try and learn them, even when Hiruzen offered to personally teach them to him. Both terribly complicated and terribly dangerous, Minato wondered what kind of monster the Sandaime was to use the techniques, let alone invent them.

Minato knew he could have escaped the conflagration along with Kushina using the Hiraishin in the not-too-unlikely event that the barrier collapsed, leaving the Kyuubi to its fate, but he needed to be alone within the protective confines of the barrier in order to seal away the Kyuubi for good.

Still, despite knowing his fate, he couldn't help but admire his predecessor's sheer power. He could feel the power of the flames that licked angrily at his barrier, an uncomfortable heat that parched his throat and sapped his energy. He hoped he had been even a quarter good or strong of a Hokage as Hiruzen Sarutobi had been, but he thought perhaps that was a little too much to ask for. Not that he had that much time to accomplish it, but…

Minato shook his head clear of all these fatalistic thoughts and instead smiled and leaned down to kiss his wife on the cheek lightly. She smiled back faintly, the pain showing clearly in her eyes. Her hands were clenched tightly around his left bicep, white-knuckled both from the pain of keeping her Chakra Chains corporeal and the effort of staying conscious despite the pain. Despite her prior claims that she could have taken the Kyuubi down with her as a former jinchuuriki, they both knew that she no longer had the strength for it. They knew the only alternative. Minato felt his heart break for every second of suffering he was forced to watch his wife endure, but continued to make hand-signs, for both their lives _and_ Naruto's were hanging in the balance. He knew Kushina couldn't hold it down for much longer, and that if they didn't stop the Kyuubi here, then it would most likely go back to attack Konoha again, perhaps even angrier and vengefully than before.

But luckily, he knew that the long hand-sealing chain was finishing, and he could already feel a chilling pull begin to tug on his chakra. And then, almost before he knew it, his fingers were already forming the last hand sign- another unorthodox seal, where his fingers curled around their counterparts on the other hand, looking as if he was shaking hands with himself.

Slowly, he let his hands fall apart. He gently patted his wife on the head. She was too drained to acknowledge it, but he could see she was still holding on tenaciously, with that fiery will to succeed and that iron-like determination- qualities that had drawn him to her in the first place.

He looked over to Naruto, who was seated on his wife's lap. A Shadow Clone, which he had made earlier, dutifully stood up and brought over an ornate basin-like object- the Ceremonial Throne. The clone had been busy applying the needed seals onto the Throne-in this case, a modification of the Eight Trigrams Seal favoured by the Uzumaki clan. Again, another contribution made by Kushina.

He glanced regretfully at the remaining members of his family, before standing up and clapping his hands together in the final hand sign of his technique, summoning the Death God he had been holding on standby.

'Dead Demon Consuming Seal! I call you and ask for your assistance, Shinigami-sama!' he yelled, executing the final jutsu of his life.

* * *

The Third Hokage felt the raging torrent of chakra that cloaked his body shift and flicker uneasily as he began to initiate his technique. While he could use this in almost all his chakra-enabled Formes, Damage Forme was where it really shone. 'Emperor of Flames' was a technique that was simple in concept, and when used without prudence was not at all dangerous. It was only when combined with vast amounts of both chakra and fire (preferably chakra-based flame) that it became a medium for untold amount so destruction. As such, during the later years of the First Shinobi World War, Hiruzen used it in conjunction with Cremation in a Sea of Flames quite often.

It could be used with even the smallest affinity for fire, but the higher the affinity, the easier it was to use it. The effect scaling had an exponential curve, however. Genin, chuunin, even low jounin could try the technique, and all they would get would be a weak result that would not at all be viable in combat or even in survival situations. However, once you got on the rise, the damage potential rose out of sight. Much like Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows in retrospect, though _that _particular technique was less extreme. Luckily, however, the number of people capable of causing massive amounts of damage using Emperor of Flames was restricted to about three people and they were all loyal to Konoha. Probably. (Two of them were currently outside of the village, though, doing who-knows-what.) One of them, in particular, had said she didn't want to step inside the village ever again, but she'd most likely lend a hand if push came to shove.

Hiruzen grinned impishly as he remembered a certain incident concerning _that _particular shinobi, a small child, and an open air spring in Earth Country. Pushing away all unnecessary thoughts, the aged shinobi shook his head and expanded his chakra, feeling for the flames that he knew were there. With a small push, he forced the flames away in a small circle, creating a safe landing spot of the ground, which he promptly jumped into.

'Grrr,' he grunted with effort, as he began to manually haul the flames back towards his body. The blaze crawled up his body, coalescing around him in a cape like fashion. Despite the thick, almost opaque veil of chakra that still surged around him, the flame passed through effortlessly, adhering to his shoulders without actually causing any harm to either Hiruzen or his clothes. The flames still spat and danced but they also exhibited a subdued, almost docile quality, especially compared to the viciously flickering flames that still remained on the ground and the dome.

Hiruzen made a vague movement with his arm, bringing it to his chest, and the surrounding flames, as one, surged towards him, a enormous wave of heat and light that turned the night sky as bright as day. They enveloped him completely, unstoppable in their power, burying him under a deluge of fire.

But the aptly named Fire Shadow was not in any danger- after all, this is what Emperor of Flames was all about. Hiruzen, with supreme force of will, allowed the flames to caress his body, enveloping it fully, essentially become _one _with it. There was no air where the Hokage stood, no space. There was only the burning embrace of the embers and heat. He breathed in fire, he breathed out fire. The flames traveled down his veins, they exploded inside his skull, and they danced inside his eye sockets. They burned and raged throughout his whole body.

This was the sight that Azuki and the reinforcements saw when they finally arrived at the clearing. They stopped and stared in shock, as they digested the impossible scene in front of them. The burning pillar of fire that had been all that remained of the Hokage's ocean-sized Cremation in a Sea of Flames had almost disappeared, plunging the clearing back into the murky darkness of night. The only illumination came from the dim light of the moon and the stars, the fading glow of the superheated barrier surrounding the Minato, Kushina and the Kyuubi, and _Hiruzen. _Or what _used _to be Hiruzen.

The Hokage no longer resembled a human, but was more like a construct of flame, a flickering, demonic apparition that flapped and swayed with the wind. There was no concrete body that the onlookers could see- there was only the flickering near-transparency of the fire and the flickering shadows it threw. This contrasted and accentuated with the steady pillar of chakra that continued to rise into the sky, creating a dazzling combination that wrought havoc on the observers' eyes.

The person enshrined in fire turned to glance at them, and that was when they saw the true extent of the changes the jutsu had wrought on Hiruzen. For one, there were the obvious aesthetic changes. He now sported a flaming cloak that swirled and eddied around his body with the natural spontaneity of fire, crackling and popping around his shoulders. He was no longer wearing his war helmet, but instead had a simple yet ornate crown that sat snugly on his brow. His eyes had no pupils… or irises for that matter; they were just solid balls of flame. His skin rippled intermittently as the flames that it was composed of flickered in chaotic tremors of movement that echoed all over his body.

In his left hand he held a rod or scepter, with an orb on the end. His crown and scepter _may _have had precious gems or jewels decorating them, but it was hard to tell, as there was no speck of colour anywhere on Hiruzen's body. Everything was the uniform bright yellow of flame. The constant movement of the fire and the radiant intensity of the flame also made it hard for the onlookers to make out any details.

In his right hand, however, he held something quite interesting. Nobody could bear to look at it, and some people, such as the doujutsu wielders, couldn't even stand to look at its general direction, because it was so bright. It was like a miniature sun in intensity. It was unknown if it was also comparable to the sun in temperature, as the Hokage's entire body radiated heat like a continuous barrage of low level fire jutsu.

In truth, it was simply all the flames left over from the Cremation in a Sea of Flames that hadn't been needed to complete Emperor of Flames. Unlike most non-summoning jutsu, Emperor of Flames had an upper limit when being used. Once you've successfully turned your whole body into flames, that's all there is to it. Not much more you can do. Hiruzen had experimented extensively when he had hit the proverbial glass ceiling, and while he could affect the quality and intensity of his flames with training, he didn't really need it, as it was destructive enough as it was. He also managed to convert some of the surroundings into an Emperor of Flames-like state, but he figured this skill was pretty much useless… apart from that one time when he turned everything nonliving in an enemy base into fire. It instantly roasted everybody inside, as well as spreading to damage some enemy affiliated buildings nearby.

Anyway, Hiruzen had gathered the leftover flames from the Sea of Flames (and there was a _lot_) and forced them into a small orb, about as big as a fist. It was no challenge, despite the massive volume, because of his now god-like fire manipulation abilities. And so now he had a superheated ball of flame in hand with perhaps the same destructive power of one of Kyuubi's Tailed Beast Balls. Sweeeet.

That was all well and good, but now he had no idea what the hell he should do with the super heated ball of fire. Well, apart from detonating it in close proximity to the Kyuubi, of course. _But the thing is, _Hiruzen thought regretfully, _if Minato is truly using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, which I think he is… then I don't want to get caught up in that. If that happens, Konoha may lose not one, but two Hokages today. _

Hiruzen rose into the air, everything beneath his waist disappearing into flame and lifting him up on a cushion of heat. _First, _he thought to himself, _I need to get past that barrier. It repulses jutsu even as strong as Cremation in a Sea of Flames, so if I just throw myself at it as a flaming meteor, I'll just get repelled. Maybe… I'll try dispersing and see if I can't work my way past it. _

Plan set in his mind; he allowed his arms and legs to dissipate back into the natural flame that it was meant to be and then hurled himself at the barrier. Ironically, despite his resolution not to 'throw himself at it like a flaming meteor', he still managed to do so. But instead of impacting against the still visible chakra shield, Hiruzen burst into red mist the moment before he struck the dome.

To his surprise, he actually succeeded in his plan, and the mist passed through the barrier effortlessly. He gave a frustrated sigh as he reformed on the inside though, as he had felt the superheated fireball in his hand threatening to burst out of control. While he could usually command all heat in the vicinity with total control, the strain of turning his flame body into mere molecules, moving it remotely, as well as holding together the dangerously powerful fireball was too much for him, and in the end he was forced to absorb it back into himself.

Looking upwards, Hiruzen gave a shocked gasp as he took stock of the situation inside the dome. He saw the Ceremonial Throne lying on the ground with baby Naruto in it, covered in arcane drawings. He saw Kushina kneeling on the ground, great lengths of chain protruding from her back. He saw Minato standing upright, defiantly glaring at the immobilized Kyuubi. And he saw the towering spectral figure floating behind the young Hokage, a clawed hand thrust straight through Minato's stomach.

Hiruzen knew, at this point, that events had already been set in motion, despite how much he despised the current situation. There was no salvaging Minato's life, not once he had summoned the Shinigami. It was likely that Kushina would perish as well. Usually jinchuuriki died instantly after their bijuu is extracted, but Kushina, being one of the last members of the infamous Uzumaki clan, was blessed with their inhuman longevity and vitality, perhaps allowing her to survive the extraction process for a few more hours. The most he could do now was to try and make their plan a success. Their plan of sealing the Kyuubi into the newborn Naruto.

The question was what exactly could he do to help? He couldn't exactly help with the sealing process, as it was already done… perhaps by one of Minato's Shadow Clones. The rest was up to Minato's strength of will. _Maybe I could distract the Kyuubi a little, make it easier for Minato to seal, _he thought. He was about to leap into action, maybe scorch some fox fur, when the Shinigami unexpectedly spoke.

'**Ah… Kyuubi-chan,' **it rasped in a voice that sounded like a sack full of rocks being dragged across the ground, **'It's been a while. But it looks like I'm going to have to seal you again.'**

_Kyuubi-chaaaaan?! _thought Hiruzen in shock, _Kyuubi is female? What the hell? How does it even have a gender?_

'**Shinigami-sama,' **it growled back with what seemed like a modicum of respect (_definitely__ can't be female,_ thought Hiruzen in relief after hearing the beast's voice), **'these damned humans… why do you even have a contract with these mortals anyway? I hate being sealed…'**

It was at that moment that Kushina, who looked like she was in the throes of a particularly intense bout of pain, gave a racking cough, involuntarily letting her control over the chakra chains slip. And the Kyuubi, sensing this moment of weakness, feeling the sudden slack in the chains, leapt forwards, one great claw extended to impale the infant lying on the Ceremonial Throne.

Hiruzen saw the boy's parents rush over towards their son, presumably to shield him with their bodies, in his peripheral vision. But he soon put them out of his mind, as he was in the air, already half way towards the Kyuubi's incoming claw. His fire trail spiraled outwards from him as he sped up, the total volume of his 'main' body beginning to pare down through the force and speed of his ascent.

But quicker than he could have expected, Hiruzen's flaming rocket dashed itself against the titanic claw of the demon fox, smashing into formless flame once more. Luckily, invulnerability was one of Emperor of Flames' strong points. The sudden flare of unexpected fireworks in the air lasted only a second before they congregated at one point and transformed into something completely different. The fire took the shape of a giant vice that gripped the claw tightly and wrenched backwards with undeniable force.

But despite the vice having the full power of the Third Hokage's strength of will behind it, it was only capable of slowing the Kyuubi slightly. Although there was a substantial reduction in the attack's velocity, it was still moving forward with considerable speed- inexorably, inescapably. The claw came closer to Minato and Kushina, who stood there, braced like stone sentinels, ready to block any harm that threatened to befall to their beloved child at any cost.

Just as the tip of an enormous, wickedly curved claw was about to pierce their bodies, it stopped mysteriously. Hiruzen, sensing an opportunity, tugged especially hard, struggling to increase the distance between the shinobi and their impending doom. It failed.

It was not until the Kyuubi spoke, that the humans realized why it had stopped.

'**Shinigami-sama… why? Why did you stop me? Do you **_**want **_**me to get sealed? Do you hate me? What did I do wrong?' **it growled, almost pitifully.

'**Eh heh…' **the Death God replied sheepishly, **'No, that's not it. It's just that I can see, through my Third Eye, that if you get sealed within… ah… Naruto, was it? Yes… if you are sealed within Naruto, then it will be much more interesting. Both for him, for you, for the Shinobi World, and for us, the Pantheon.'**

'**But I **_**hate **_**being sealed! I've already been sealed three times, and they were all **_**really **_**boring! I never got to do anything!'**

'**Ah… but this time it will be different. The young human over there… the young Hokage… he is a strange one. He has interesting plans for you, Kyuubi… and interesting plans for his son. He is smart… it would not do well to underestimate him. One wrong step trying to tamper with that seal, Kyuubi, could prove disastrous for you. I wouldn't be surprised if he even had a plan to escape my grasp.'**

When he heard this, Minato turned to give the imposing Death God a piercing glance- not quite a glare, but definitely not a friendly look. He and his wife had taken the reprieve to impart a few final words to their son and legacy, but now it had seem they had exhausted all they could say. There were fresh tears on Kushina's face, but Minato's expression was resolute.

He stood up and held his hands at the ready.

'If you are done, Shinigami-sama, then I think we will conclude this little meeting, if you will,' he said softly.

'**Certainly, young Hokage,' **the Shinigami, as amiably as could be expected, given his rough voice, **'I'm sorry, Kyuubi, but I'll have to talk to you another time.'**

'**Hmph,' **snorted the Kyuubi, who was still being restrained by chains, Hiruzen's flames and the Shinigami, **'I guess there's not much I can do about that. But if you're wrong, and this sealing period's boring, then you'll hear about it when I get out!'**

Minato, who was beginning to get impatient with the immortals' banter, especially now that he was beginning to feel faint with the constant drain of chakra that the Shinigami was requiring from him, decisively clapped his hands together, yelling out, 'Seal!'

Immediately, the Kyuubi disappeared in a whirl of chakra, half heading for the Shinigami and the other half making a beeline for Naruto. They entered their respective entities with a swirl and flash of red energy. Apparently, both the Dead Demon Consuming Seal and the Eight Trigrams Seal had been successful.

_Shit, _thought Minato weakly, as he felt his soul beginning to slide out of his body, a deep chill that penetrated to his very bones. _I was planning on taking out the Yin chakra with me to the Shinigami, but I only managed to get half Yin and half Yang. Oh well… but I hope the Eight Trigrams Seal works, or else the Kyuubi might… wreak… havoc…_

With the last of his strength, the Fourth Hokage gripped his wife's hand and pressed their joined digits against their infant son's stomach, where a fresh-looking intricate seal design was evident. And it was there that two of the best shinobi the elemental nations had ever known perished, in their plight to save their village. They succeeded, but they also unleashed a force beyond their reckoning. A force that would change the entire shinobi world.

Meanwhile, Hiruzen, dropping his Emperor of Flames transformation now that there was no enemy to fight, rushed over to the bodies of two of his closest friends and confidants. As he grabbed them to try and see if there was any hope… _any, _that they were still alive, the baby lying only a couple of metres away opened his eyes. And inside those crystal clear cerulean orbs, there was the unmistakable glint of intelligence.

* * *

Thanks a lot to my faithful beta-reader (of sorts)- MisterKuma. Couldn't have done it without him.


	3. Chapter 3

Now, a short interlude before we delve into the true tale that is chronicled here.

This is part 1 of 2: Memories and Mysteries. Brace yourselves.

* * *

When questioned on the matter of Uzushiogakure, there are few shinobi outside Konoha who can divulge any relevant information. It was, until recently, located in the Land of Whirlpools, a small island nation situated about halfway between Fire Country and Water Country. Although it had retained significant ties with Kirigakure and the rest of Water Country, it still owed its main allegiance to Konohagakure. But it was by no stretch of imagination to say that they were subservient to Konoha, as they were a powerful and independent power in their own right.

So the fact that they had a special relationship with Konoha meant that Konoha shinobi were usually the most knowledgeable ones when it came to Uzushiogakure. Unfortunately, even with this relatively large advantage of information, actual details about the Village hidden in the Whirling Tides were scarce and mainly hearsay and speculation.

Most jounin shinobi could tell you that the Village hidden in the Whirling Tides had been a prominent shinobi village until it had been completely and utterly destroyed in the chaotic mess that was the Second Shinobi World War. Quite a lot of them could tell you that they were pioneers in the art of fuuinjutsu, and were unrivalled in that field, using those sealing techniques to great affect in battle and for civilian purposes alike.

A number of them could tell you that the majority of Uzushiogakure's fame could be attributed to the Uzumaki clan, a group of shinobi whose names and deeds had almost become synonymous with Uzushiogakure itself. The late Fourth Hokage's wife was incidentally one of the final remnants of the Uzumaki clan, a fact that the majority of Konoha's residents had not yet picked up upon, due to the strict secrecy surrounding the group and the circumstances of their destruction.

Only a few, though, could tell you that the Uzumaki clan had almost superhuman amounts of vitality and energy. Blessed with stamina and physical abilities that bordered at the limits of human ability, and coupled with the phenomenal quality of chakra that came as a side-effect of the vitality, they were unmistakable when entering the field of battle, their distinctive chakra signatures acting like a beacon to even the most inept of sensors. With these unique characteristics, the red-haired Uzumaki were universally feared during their meteoric rise to one of the most respected shinobi clans. Despite this enormous advantage over normal ninja, members of the Uzumaki clan rarely exploited it, instead relying on the potentially much more devastating fuuinjutsu specialisation.

But an extremely important facet of the enigma that is the Uzumaki clan, which is currently known to none but a select few people (numbering in the single digits) is that both the Uzumaki clan's distinctive attributes, their supreme skill in fuuinjutsu _and _their superhuman vitality, came from a single bloodline trait. Dubbed the 'Ryuuketsu no Senmonka' or the 'Blood-Soaked Specialist', this unique kekkei genkai was the root of the Uzumaki clan's phenomenal advantages. Often overlooked though, it was also the root of the Uzumaki clan's fatal weaknesses.

The archives of Uzumaki lore, which are now lost with the sacking of Uzushiogakure, recounted the sensational tale that lead to the Uzumaki clan's acquisition of their idiosyncratic traits, and were some of the most fiercely guarded documents in the former village. But even if the documents were _not _destroyed, they still would have been worthless, as the Uzumaki clan are now all but gone. Still, I guess there is little harm in discussing their contents now.

* * *

It all started when a young member of the Senju clan managed to defeat and take captive a moderately high-ranking demon. Although he planned on executing the demon, it craftily offered a deal to the ambitious young shinobi, one he could not refuse.

In return for its freedom, the demon proposed a gift. It offered to make the Senju an expert in two fields of his choice. After deliberating for almost an entire week, the Senju agreed on two conditions: 1) The advantages that he chose would be passed on to his descendants, and 2) He wanted a 'perfect body'.

The reason why the Senju wanted the two stipulations was because the particular branch of the Senju clan that he belonged to suffered from a rare strain of a muscle paralysing disease that was hereditary and struck every few generations. His father had been unlucky, and the Senju had seen firsthand what the disease could do to someone's shinobi career. He wished to free his family from this curse, once and for all.

The demon, seeing the second condition as one of the two traits, agreed to the deal and kept his word, enhancing the Senju's body as well as granting him skills in his chosen field- fuuinjutsu.

Unfortunately, even though back then, demons were a much more common occurrence, some people had not yet caught on to the fact that _demons cannot be trusted. _And so, this particular Senju fell prey to the demon's honeyed words and sweet promises. As soon as the deal was done and the demon had been freed, it immediately leapt at its saviour and took its revenge. Instead of simply killing the young man, this demon did something even crueller, especially in that age where might reigned supreme. _He stole the Senju's shinobi skills. _

Of course, it couldn't take away the Senju's newly acquired vitality and fuuinjutsu skills, as demons are bound to their word without exception, but it took away almost everything else. His chakra moulding and shaping was as good as ever, but for some reason simply refused to be coaxed into ninjutsu or genjutsu. His body felt as comfortable and powerful as ever, but when caught in the midst of a battle, stubbornly refused to cooperate.

What good is strength and speed without form and technique? The Senju's hard-earned taijutsu skills had completely deserted him, leaving him as nothing more than a brawler. Still, due to his increased durability and stamina, he managed to defeat most opponents through attrition. What's more is that the skills that he had lost simply couldn't be relearned again. He could try and shoot a simple fireball (something he could have done in his sleep before the ill-fated deal) for a whole month, and at the end of that month, he would be no closer to summoning that fireball than he had been at the start of the month.

Of course, the Senju had experimented with his newfound fuuinjutsu skills, and found that it had worked… to some point. While being able to perform and understand sealing to a previously untold of degree, the Senju found that, unfortunately, fuuinjutsu just didn't _feel right. _When drawing the various sealing diagrams and matrices, his hands and his chakra itched and tugged, as if they were striving to move in different directions. The structured forms and patterns of conventional fuuinjutsu just were too _rigid _for the young Senju, and he felt that they weren't utilising the full potential of the sealing arts.

With that in mind, he had tried creating his own style, with limited success. While he could achieve results that usually exceeded those obtained through the regular style, it was still missing something, from the Senju's perspective. Without anything to base it on, the instinctive movements of his body normally produced meaningless scribbles. The ones that did succeed did not have any common characteristics, so it was likely that it was more of a lucky accident than the birth of a new sealing style.

As he was forced to rely on conventional fuuinjutsu as that was the only consistent style he knew, he could feel the irritation and contempt he felt for it grow and fester. Soon, he began to hate the sealing arts, and used them less and less, until one day he vowed he would never use them again.

Left bereft of talent in a battle-obsessed clan, the Senju decided to leave the clan and instead wander around, and perhaps find a way to reverse the situation. Having given up on actually regaining the skills that he had learned over a twenty year period, he instead worked on travelling the land, trying finding some place to fit in. He did not to forgo his shinobi roots, but none of the shinobi related professions would accept someone as unskilled as he. He couldn't even obtain a job as a professional fighter or combatant, as he would crumble at the first sight of someone with a real style or even basic shinobi training. His fuuinjutsu was all but useless in these situations as well, being much too slow and unwieldy to use. He didn't want to live off and depend on something that felt so _wrong, _anyway.

And so, the young Senju traversed the Elemental Countries, seeing diverse marvels and experiencing varied wonders yet never finding a solution to his problem. Finally, after ten years of fruitless searching, he decided to just give up and settle down, pursuing a civilian career.

Incidentally, when he made this fateful decision, he was staying at a small fishing village on the coast of the Land of Whirlpools. There had been a rumour that there was a demon that granted wishes living in a cave located in the mountain range that surrounded this particular village, and the Senju had trekked over to see if the rumour was true. It turned out that it wasn't, but the fishing village was pleasant enough, so the former shinobi just settled down and began to work as a fisherman.

The work was demanding and relentless, but the Senju's enhanced body was able to keep up with the stressful routine without a problem. The local residents were kind and accepting of this mysterious stranger, taking him into their own homes and helping him get back on his feet. And while the hard labour kept his restless body at bay, the Senju soon found that he was still internally yearning for a future with more action, his early conditioning as a war-seeking shinobi surfacing after many years of travelling.

But despite this desire, he didn't want to leave his adopted home, with the people who had accepted him, and who he, in turn, had learned to love. The work was a little tiresome and unchallenging, but he could deal with it. In his spare time, he created artworks- calligraphy or paintings, usually, with the same brush skills that were utilised to draw seals and sold them. These usually went to the traders that travelled the islands, and the Senju always gave the profits to the host family who had graciously taken him in.

Incidentally, the man who had taken him into his own home was actually the village chief, a jovial, kind-hearted man who always did his best for strangers and passer-bys, believing strongly in the concept of karma. As was his nature, he always did his best to refuse the money which the Senju offered him, but the Senju never took no for an answer, even slipping the money into the chief's pouch in one instance when he was being particularly stubborn.

But the Senju's present idyllic lifestyle was not to last. After living and working in the fishing village for about three years, and thoroughly integrating himself in the community as a respectable pillar of the fishing fleet, it all changed in one day. One day, which would shatter the peaceful day-to-day living of both the Senju and the village he was living in. It was a change that would come to rock the greater shinobi world to its very foundations, and usher in a new age of ninja.

* * *

It all began in a sea-bound battle several kilometres off the coast of the Land of the Whirlpools. Beginning as a skirmish between a pirate raider and a small craft carrying three genin and their jounin instructor from Kirigakure, it soon escalated to the point where the jounin had to step in and take drastic action before he lost his charges' lives. And so he conjured up a large ocean wave which capsized his opponent, taking care of the obstruction and allowing him (and his students) to be on their merry way. Unfortunately, this particular jounin didn't foresee the consequences of releasing the attack, which was incidentally heading towards the island nation of Whirpool Country, or more specifically, the fishing village where the Senju was currently living.

But before we go into more detail about the results of the jounin's ill-fated wave, we should discuss the fascinating matter of Whirlpool Country's unique geographic features.

The Land of Whirlpools took its name, perhaps a little uncreatively, from the abundant amount of vicious whirlpools (go figure) that surrounded the island. The masses of swirling water that jealously guarded the coastlines seethed savagely, all day and all night, never resting, never allowing safe passage. They numbered in the thousands, if not millions. Standing on the shore and looking outwards, they punctured the sea halfway to the horizon, rippling and flickering, with violent surgings of water blasting upwards with force every few seconds.

The Land of Whirlpools had a very unique surrounding water environment. Despite the undeniably intimidating visual deterrent of the murderous waves, and the feeling of sheer impenetrability that seemed to jump out at you, the truth was that there are a number of sea currents that snaked past the perpetually roaring sea guardians and made their way safely to the mainland. If you manage to find one of these currents, you can ride it all the way to safe harbour, without even having to row or use chakra.

The reason for this is that with the ridiculous amount of contesting whirlpools in the area, all twisting and revolving in completely different directions, there needed to be sufficient buffer zones of still water so that the whirlpools do not end up cancelling out each other's momentum. These naturally occurring still waters are somewhat of a misnomer, as they are definitely not still. Despite not being able to become a whirlpool in their own capacity, the still waters are still thrust forward with the turning force of the adjacent ones, accelerating and rushing with each subsequent maelstrom. This is the reason why boats that find these pathways are carried forward without the need for the crew's intervention, pushed by the force of the whirlpools. Unfortunately, the speed at which these currents move is quite high, and a number of unlucky seamen have died because they had misjudged the sheer force at which the currents had used to throw them upon the shore.

Now it could have been through the machinations of a higher power, or through pure dumb luck, but one way or another, the chakra-born wave that had been summoned by the Kiri jounin _somehow _managed to arrive at the entrance of one of the 'safe currents', avoiding both the whirlpools themselves, _and _the equal amount of currents moving the opposite direction. This was no mean feat, and there is a good reason why _anything _landing at of these rare points by sheer luck is so unlikely.

As stated before, the currents that run these perilous paths are extraordinary swift and forceful. And when this particular wave managed to join up, naturally, it also accelerated. And as it sped up, it also gained volume, fed by the raging whirlpools that lined its path. While it had already been huge, big enough to capsize the pirate ship, as the wave roared down the path towards the fishing village, it soon grew to monstrous proportions.

Rushing towards the shore with unstoppable force and daunting mass, the wave blasted along, unaware of the change that it would bring to the small, sleepy village.

* * *

Of course, a wave twice as big as a Boss Summon would not go unnoticed, especially for a village whose main source of income and food was the sea. The village, having experienced similar phenomena before (there was this time where thirteen very surprised cows were hurled into the middle of the village by the force of the current- the villagers had believed it was a gift from the Sea God… until one month later, when the same current hurled a merchant crate full of extremely sharp kunai knives), had built sturdy sea walls and allocated look-outs. Unfortunately, although similar events had indeed happened, usually the currents splashed harmlessly against either the cliffs or the sea walls. Even if a particular forceful eruption threw something over the sea walls, it was never more than smashed up flotsam and jetsam- pulverised by the merciless force of the rushing waters.

And so, lookout duty was no more than a formality- a dumping place for the troublemakers too untrustworthy to be allowed to steer a boat. There was rarely more than one lookout at a time- the small village was too small to waste precious manpower on watching a body of water where danger almost never came. And with this lack of attention also came a lack of foresight. Although the danger that the currents posed was recognised, there was no back up plan to enact.

When the wave was spotted in the distance by the dozing lookout, panic gripped the populace, as evacuation was impossible, given the near impassable mountains that cut off the village from the rest of Whirlpool Country. There was a chance that the women and children could be saved by boarding fishing vessels and setting sail on one of the 'outward' currents, but the boats were on the other side of the village, drying in the sun.

There was no time to go and fetch them and prep them for travel, especially given the tremendous speed that the wave was approaching at. It was already a large, mountain-shaped blob that bore down on them from a point about halfway to the horizon.

The entire population was currently gathered in front of the suddenly flimsy-looking sea wall, all worriedly watching the wave's progress. They knew that their defensive bulwark was no protection against a force as powerful as this one- it took damage from one source or another practically every week. They, as one, decided with an unspoken agreement, to take their chances together, as was the general mindset in such a close-knit society such as this one. There was nothing they could do; they knew this as an intrinsic fact. They had lived off and profited from the sea, and now they would suffer and die by the sea. Each villager, from the oldest invalid to the youngest child, bore this fact stoically, without flinching, no words or tears being exchanged.

The Senju, on the other hand, was staring blankly at the frothing water, mind reeling. He had had no intention of dying here. Although he had given up on regaining his shinobi powers, he still had nurtured the dream of raising children, who would fulfil his desire to become strong ninjas, and entrench their name into the history books. He cast his mind around futilely, trying to come up with something that might help him, and his adopted extended family, survive. He suddenly wished he had his cousin Tobirama's supreme, unrivalled control over water, or his _other _cousin Hashirama's unique wood jutsus. He had never begrudged his cousins' growth and fame as incredibly powerful shinobi, even though he himself could not even pass off as a mediocre one. Hearing tales of their deeds and exploits had really driven in the extent of his foolishness in making such a reckless deal with that demon.

_I could have been like that, _he thought, _but, no. I'm stuck with nothing except these stupid, useless, sealing powers that I hate. Goddamn it!_

He blinked away angry tears, numbly watching the mindless, regular twisting of a whirlpool as it, in a way that reflected his mood, angrily revolved in a battle against itself. Despite his impending doom and his frustrated thoughts, the Senju was still struck by the whirlpool's violent beauty. The destructive allure of its force and symmetry. The rough grandeur of its contrasting colours and contradicting movements.

It was as if time had stopped. To the Senju, there was suddenly nothing in the world except that particular whirlpool. The spray of the sea foam no longer pelted his cheeks, the roar of the ever-present waves died down and the restless fidgeting of his fellow villagers stopped. Nothing mattered, except for the elegant revolutions of the whirlpool. But the Senju was not just watching the whirlpool, oh no. His mind felt like it had been jolted by an A-rank lightning jutsu. Thoughts sparked and blasted through his mind. Gears that had seemed stuck now ran at light speed, hinges suddenly greased. His worries melted away, and all of a sudden he was calm and relaxed, as if he were standing in the eye of a storm. He could already see what he had to do. Superimposed over the exquisite movements of the whirlpool, the Senju could see sealing formulas and diagrams. They writhed and twisted as if they were alive, rearranging themselves into patterns that seemed at once to be both functional _and_ pleasing to the eye. Algorithms solved themselves, the number and symbols fixing themselves into place, until it all clicked.

Then, like a rush of wind buffeting him from the inside of a tunnel, the Senju understood the one course of action that could potentially save him _and _the people he had come to call family. And then time snapped back, like elastic that had been stretched too far. The sounds and sights and smells hit the Senju like a hammer, but he ignored them, already running back into the deserted village, towards the house he shared with the chief.

His fellow villagers watched him silently, without judgement or disapproval, probably speculating that he didn't want to be seen losing his composure in front of the people he had worked so hard to gain the respect of. But this was soon proven to be not the case, as the Senju soon ran out, carrying his calligraphy set and what seemed to be the sheet from his bed.

Ignoring the puzzled glances from his villagers, the Senju cast a calculating look at the incoming wave, before setting down the sheet and beginning to inscribe the sealing matrix that had burst into his head in the epiphany he had earlier. His sealing skills, which had not rusted due to his calligraphy/painting practice, got the job done in less than thirty seconds. The Senju flared his chakra, surprised he had not forgotten how to use it, and poured it into his hastily drawn seal, which closely resembled a spiral. He held nothing back, knowing that if this failed, then they were all dead.

To his relief, the experimental seal accepted his chakra, but relief soon turned into anxiety, as the seal took his chakra, (which seemed like a drop in the ocean due to his enormous capacity) and began to glow ominously. Meanwhile, in the air, directly in the now looming wave's path, an exact replica of the Senju's seal appeared. It glowed with almost blinding intensity, the arcane symbols and twisted contours blinking with palpable energy, which seemed to be growing by the second. Then, just as the Senju was beginning to think the seal was a dud and was nothing more than a pretty light show, a cloud of smoke erupted where the seal had been, and a bulky object materialised.

The object was massive, easily as big as a mountain, and shaped roughly like a sculptor's slab or tablet. It was elaborately decorated, but with a sinister demonic theme. The front of it, which faced the tsunami, was taken up by a large ogre-like face, with wickedly curved tusks that protruded from thick lips and beady, yet strangely devious eyes, complete with slitted pupils.

The sides were covered in sharp spikes that speared upwards in thick clumps, a dense forest of cruel death. The top of the slab had an ornate lampshade-like object, made of slat-like plates. The back of the slab, the only part that the Senju and his fellow villagers could see, was neither decorated or covered in spines- instead in had thick ridge-like objects which traversed the height, much like a folds of fat on a tubby man's belly.

It was not until the face split apart and opened up that they realised it was a gate. The two sides of the face were the actual doors of the gate, but the strange thing was that if this strange object was a gate, then why didn't it lead anywhere? But the time to ponder was over, because the enormous wave was upon them, and their only defence was the strange gate that had mysteriously appeared. Luckily it looked a hell of a lot sturdier than the sea walls!

A few moments later, the villagers were tentatively opening their eyes, and rejoicing that the were still alive, before astonished gasps and pointing fingers took over as everyone stared in muted shock at what the strange gate was doing.

Unnoticed to many of the observers, the gate had two enormously thick chains that dangled from the sides, ending in large, bulky weights. Just when the wave was about to strike it, the weights had dropped, slicing straight through the mighty rotation of the whirlpools, and sunk deep into the sandy sea floor, anchoring both the doors _and _the gate itself into position. When the crushing pressure of the massive tsunami finally hit, the gate gave a shiver… and _ate _the water. The unstoppable deluge went straight through the open gate, and simply disappeared. Millions and millions of gallons of liquid vanished into midair, when it should have been crushing a few hundred pesky humans and their dwellings into nothing.

The villagers couldn't believe their eyes. Everywhere you looked, you could see men and women rubbing their eyes, or pinching each other, in an attempt to discern the truth from this amazing, unbelievable phenomenon. But no matter how hard they tried, the gate still stood there, unmoving, patiently sucking up every drop of water that threatened to get past its defences.

'Heh,' smirked the Senju, after he had gotten over the shock of summoning something so unexpected, 'Ravenous Rashoumon- success.'

He stood there, with a blank, glazed look on his face, until the gate had finished absorbing all the potentially dangerous water. Then, and only then, did he allow himself to pass out.

* * *

When the Senju finally came to, he was surrounded by his fellow villagers, all peering down at him with curious expressions. Startled, he leapt up and backed away, nervously spouting excuses and explanations. But to his surprise, when he actually registered his friends' body language and expressions, he noted with a dazed sense of wonder that they weren't at all suspicious or accusing. To be accurate, they were more amazed and interested at his strange ability than hung up about the fact that he had hid his powers and history from them for more than three years.

Shocked, the Senju asked, 'Why aren't you angry with me? I kept such a huge secret from you! My powers are strong enough to seal away that wave! Who knows what could have happened if it ran out of control inside the village? You took me into your village, and you accepted me as one of your own!'

Chuckling, the village chief replied, 'That's just the thing- you've lived with us, _as _one of us, for three years. We've all grown close to you. We know your personality well. For three years, you've poured your entire effort into becoming a respected pillar of the community. You've risked your life out there with the fishing fleet, battling waves and wind. You've saved quite a few men out there, young man, with your freakish strength and reflexes. Ho ho.'

Sheepish, the Senju scratched the back of his head. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the chief, who was on a roll and refused to be interrupted.

'While it is quite possibly true that your 'powers' or 'skills' or whatever they are… they might be capable of destroying the village, but I know that you love this village, and its inhabitants. You'd have tried everything in your power to stop that from happening, and even if you couldn't prevent it entirely, no doubt you would have helped rebuild this village into one much better than the old one. The fact still stands, young man, that you did, in fact, _save _this village. Without you and your powers, we'd all be sleeping at the bottom of the ocean, ripped apart by the whirlpools. So, in the end, _we _are the ones indebted to _you_.'

At this, the Senju, overwhelmed by emotion, collapsed on his knees, unbidden tears rising to his eyes. At this point, the chief sat down in front of him, evidently wanting to start a discussion. Not wanting to miss out, the rest of the village also sat down, creating a large ring with the Senju and the chief in the centre.

The two men stared at each other for a few minutes, each gathering their thoughts, before the chief abruptly asked why the Senju had come to the village if he held such powers. Heaving a sigh, the Senju then reluctantly recounted the tale of his foolishness and the consequences it brought.

The chief, throughout his tale, stroked his beard, eyes unreadable. He nodded at appropriate points and when it was finished, broke into a hearty gale of laughter.

'Oh ho ho! You actually made a deal with a demon! Young ones nowadays… so brash! Ho ho!'

'Hey,' huffed the Senju in mock anger, 'I didn't know, alright? Cut me some slack here.'

'So, what was that gate thing you summoned back there? The one that drank all the water.'

'Oh, that? It was actually based on one of the summoning contracts that one of my former clan-mates held. He called it 'The Old Capital', and he could summon demonic representations of a castle. It included people, like soldiers and stuff, and also buildings and facilities, like towers and armouries. There were six gates that I know of in total- all called the Rashoumon. Those gates always fascinated me, but Kammu never let me go lose to them, 'cause they could speak and stuff, and they hated and tried to eat everything that wasn't their summoner.

So, anyway, when I was thinking of trying to seal that wave away, I kept thinking of a way to use my fuuinjutsu powers effectively. I thought about moving the water, or creating an earth wall, but none of those really appealed to me. I had no idea how to go around doing that, so instead, when the idea of the Rashoumon randomly popped into my head, I just grabbed it and ran with it, making it up as I went along. By the way, Ravenous Rashoumon isn't a physical construct, its just a sealing matrix in the shape of a gate.'

The chief nodded insightfully.

'I see,' he lied, 'But whatever. Okay, I've decided. From now on, we'll become one of those newfangled shinobi villages that are all the rage nowadays. Young man, you will teach us how to use your powers. Alright, let's get to it!'

He pumped his fist in the air while everyone else stared at him in shock for making such a momentous decision on what seemed like a whim.

'Chief!' cried one of the elders in protest, 'Why do you want us to be a shinobi village? Not that I'm against it, but… it's a big decision. You can't just go back from something like that.'

'Well, the currents are getting stronger and stronger all the time. You know why? Because of these shinobi, that's why. All this water and fire and lightning and crap, with their fancy _charkqua, _or _chakuia_ or whatever the hell their stupid energy source is… well, fishing just can't withstand the impact that they are making on our world. The seas have already become unstable. Just think about that freak wave! We'll become a shinobi village like that one in Fire Country. Those Senju, with their Leaf Village, no one messes with them. You know why? 'Cause they're shinobi. They have power. And yet, they have a booming economy. They're stable. We'll be like them. And that's final. That's my order as chief. Any problems, boy?'

The Senju stood up, his clenched fist on his heart in a sincere salute.

'No, sir!'

* * *

And that was the beginning of Uzushiogakure. With rapidness that stunned all other nations, Uzushiogakure flourished, quickly establishing strong trade routes and a consistent agricultural sector, the new hidden village growing by leaps and bounds.

And the quality of its shinobi, in particular, rocketed up to be on the level, or perhaps even marginally better than the five main, established hidden villages. Uzushiogakure's shinobi soon gained a reputation of being devastatingly powerful, battle trained professionals that did everything in their power to ensure the mission was completed.

But the most frequently asked for shinobi had to be those from the Uzumaki clan. The Uzumaki clan, instantly recognisable by their distinctive red hair and spiral insignia, mysteriously never utilised conventional ninjutsu, but instead used unheard of techniques that seemed to utilise fuuinjutsu. With these strange techniques, they seemed capable of both emulating normal shinobi techniques and also inventing new ones. Their devastating effectiveness was almost unrivalled.

But even the non-Uzumaki shinobi that hailed from Uzushio were terrifying. Trained to incorporate the same strange fuuinjutsu (but to a lesser degree) as the Uzumaki into their fighting style, they were also capable of using normal ninja arts, combining the two to overwhelm their enemy. At the peak of its success, Uzushiogakure, and the Uzumaki clan in particular, had more members in the Bingo Books than any other faction in the Elemental Nations.

The Senju, after the fateful speech made by the chief, had done his best to try and guide the new shinobi village into success, utilising both his sealing expertise _and _information he retained from the shinobi training he received as a Senju. He ended up marrying the chief's daughter, a fiery little thing whose burning temper matched the colour of her hair. Their union marked the beginning of a clan, one they named _Uzumaki_, meaning 'Whirlpool', after their beloved home.

Due to the spectacular success and fame enjoyed by the Uzumaki clan, the chief and his elders soon pressured the Senju (well, the _Uzumaki_, now, I guess) to take on more wives to quicker populate his clan. At that point in time, the Uzumaki clan had only consisted of the Uzumaki and his wife, as well a number of villagers who had agreed to cast off their own families and join the budding clan as vassals. They had taken on a special seal that bonded their blood with that of the Uzumaki's, effectively granting them his bloodline and kekkei genkai.

The Senju reluctantly agreed to the elders' demands, but didn't actually take another wife until about two years after the agreement. Not long after that, though, he found yet another woman who he fancied and also asked her to wed him. The first was a serene dark haired woman who came from Wave Country while the other was an accomplished shinobi in Kiri's forces (incidentally this woman also had red–hair, and had many humorous spats with the first wife).

Unfortunately, this attention that Uzushiogakure received was not taken well by a couple of jealous entities. In the Second Shinobi World War, a coalition of Kiri, Iwa and Kumo conspired to destroy this upstart nation that had already usurped much of their power. Kiri didn't like them because, being right in Kirigakure's traditional territory, Uzushio took many of the prime mission clients due to their much friendlier reputation. Kumo, being the battle crazed military power that it was, just wanted to crush everything, and it knew it had a better chance of this if it teamed up with other villages. Iwa just disliked the fact that they were allied with Konoha, with whom it had a hated rivalry.

So, in the chaos of the Second War, they launched an all out offensive on Konoha's far flank, but despite annihilating the enemy forces, allowed enough time for a distress call to go out. The Uzushio forces, having already been mobilised, went out directly to save their comrades. Unfortunately, against the combined might of three of the Great Villages, they were unmercifully crushed, hunted down to the last man. Despite this, they managed to inflict heavy damage onto the enemy, blasting severe holes in their defence. But while the shinobi were fighting for their lives, Kiri had kept the majority of its forces in reserve and now attacked Uzushio's home ground- the Land of Whirlpools.

Due to sending out almost every able-bodied fighter available to them, Uzushio was left with almost no defences except the whirlpools that naturally swirled around them. Kiri lost many men trying to breach the seemingly impenetrable bulwark, until they managed to find one of the 'currents' by sheer luck, as the spilt blood from the lost ninja stained the ocean and acted as a marker that they followed.

The attackers that got in immediately crushed everything around them with little resistance. There were no shinobi here- well, except one. The original Uzumaki, now aged to the point of almost being a withered skeleton, watched as his beloved village burn around him. A village that he had helped create himself, with men and women who had laughed and fought with him for almost a hundred years. He felt an emotion, which he had not felt since his days as an active shinobi- anger. With his vitality, he had survived the old age that had claimed his wives. With his sealing prowess, he had bested every opponent that had come after his life. And it was all leading up to this point.

Calling up the last dredges of his strength, he summoned an enormous seal through pure effort- his shining chakra engraving the lines that normally had to be drawn. And, turning the Village hidden in the Whirling Tides into an enormous whirlpool, the feature by which they had become most known, he eradicated both the attacking forces, as well as the last remnants of the once great village. Almost.

After that momentous event, the war quickly concluded. Kiri was forced to withdraw from the war with the horrific losses their forces suffered at the hands of Uzushio, and Konoha and Suna, who descended on the crippled coalition like avenging angels, quickly crushed Iwa and Kumo.

But the damage was done. Uzushio had disappeared from the face of the earth, now rendered to be a mere legend- a shadow of something great.

* * *

But Uzushiogakure's legacy was not lost. For there was a single person who escaped the devastation and ensuing manhunt. A single girl, the clan heir of the great Uzumaki… the only surviving trace of the awesome might of the Whirling Tides. Her mother, a direct descendant of the original Uzumaki, had, during the final moments of Kiri's attack on Uzushio, drawn a unique seal utilising her bloodline. Sacrificing her life (she probably would have died at the hands of the attackers or in the whirlpool summoned by her ancestor anyway) to power the one-of-a-kind seal, the courageous woman managed to teleport her daughter past the fighting and into perhaps the safest place she knew. Konoha.

Konoha had always been a staunch ally of Uzushiogakure, and vice-versa. The leaders were cousins, after all. There was a very amiable relationship between the two villages and their shinobi. Uzushio had leant some expertise in fuuinjutsu (the conventional kind, of course- the special spiral sealing used by Uzushio shinobi was kept well-hidden), and Konoha, the strongest global superpower, promised to come to Uzushio's aid when called for. This was ironic, as Uzushio met its demise by coming to _Konoha's _aid. But that's neither here nor there.

Konoha had honoured this deal with Uzushio by displaying the Uzushiogakure insignia (which was a simplified version of the Uzumaki clan crest) prominently on their shinobi's clothes and equipment.

So when a survivor of the Uzushio Purge was suddenly dumped on their doorstep, they naturally hurried to accept and protect her. Though there was one person, in particular, that was particularly anxious for the young girl's wellbeing.

A naturalised Konoha shinobi, Mito Uzumaki was especially concerned for the girl's health. Despite marrying the First Hokage and coming to accept Konoha as her own, she was still an Uzumaki at heart (from one of the vassal families, but an Uzumaki nonetheless), and sometimes yearned for the salt and spray of her home. Too late now, but the most she could do was protect probably one of the last pieces of her beloved birthplace.

Mito took the young girl, Kushina, under her wing, helping her get acquainted with life in Konoha, and teaching her some of the more advanced Uzushio techniques. Kushina loved and cared for Mito, coming to see her as a de facto grandmother (her real relation was actually quite complicated due to the Uzumaki's ridiculous longevity), and was devastated when she finally succumbed to old age.

When Mito died, Kushina had lost somebody precious. But that loss was counteracted by the meeting of somebody else- somebody equally precious. A man. Minato Namikaze. The future Fourth Hokage.

A fateful encounter, whose earth-shaking repercussions would not be felt by either of them.

* * *

Massive thanks to my beta, MisterKuma. Keep in mind he did his best to dissuade me from writing these two chapters, so if you hate it, then I am solely to blame.


	4. Chapter 4

Okay. Let's get this over and done with.

Part 2 of 2: Memories and Mysteries. Please don't kill me.

The true story will begin. Soon.

* * *

Alongside the Uzumaki, there is also one other contributor to our protagonist's hereditary traits. One equally important, but significantly less famous and illustrious. The Namikaze bloodline.

Unlike the Uzumaki, who were a large clan with an almost uniform record of having shinobi occupations, the Namikaze family mainly kept civilian business and trades. As a side note, they were, like the Uzumaki, also related to the large Senju clan, but very distantly.

Most Namikaze children had no desire to become shinobi, and usually only about one in each generation becomes an active shinobi. Unfortunately, none of the Namikaze shinobi managed to attain any kind of status or fame as a ninja, only ever becoming mediocre. None save for Minato Namikaze ever managed to grace the insides of the Bingo Books, and for the most part, they are overlooked when noting respectable ninjas in a village.

But despite being unremarkable shinobi with slower than average promotion rates, _all_ Namikaze shinobi to date have managed to obtain jounin status. _None _of them have died prematurely. This is a statistic unmatched by any other clan or family in any nation. Not the Senju or Uchiha clans with their unrivalled battle power. Not the noble Hyuuga with their pedigree. Not the Houzuki clan with their pseudo-immortal kekkei genkai. Not even that strange dark-skinned family from Kumo with their ridiculously frequent prodigies could boast to not losing a single shinobi member as a genin or chuunin.

The reason for this is the Namikaze family's own kekkei genkai.

This particular kekkei genkai was a strange one. Very strange. Unlike all other bloodline limits, it didn't produce any distinguishable effect. It could not produce flames, could not change the colour of their hair, could not grow wings. The user's skin was not hardened, they could not produce unbreakable illusions, they didn't have an enhanced sense of smell. Their chakra did not flow in unusual ways, their brains did not process information differently. This kekkei genkai, when activated, could not be detected. Because, to an observer- even a skilled ninja, there _was_ no effect.

Another strange facet of this fascinating bloodline limit was that the user could not control it. At all. While this characteristic commonly showed up in most kekkei genkai holders when they were young, they are usually able to assert control over it, even if it was as simple as turning it on or off.

But Namikaze shinobi couldn't do that. They had no control over it. They couldn't even activate it. But that's because most of them didn't know it existed. While everybody in the clan had the bloodline, some never got to use it, or even if they _did _use it, didn't _know _they used it.

But the effects were amazing… if you look at it objectively, of course. As well as all Namikaze shinobi managing to arrive at jounin level, they also had six times less chance of dying than a ninja from any other clan! If this statistic managed to get out to any rival village, no… if it even got to the _Hokage's _attention, then there would be a massive scramble for the Namikaze. One faction would be rushing to acquire and breed them, while the other would be rushing to kill them.

Fortunately, or _unfortunately, _depending on your point of view, the Namikaze were simply too small and too mediocre to warrant such attention.

The kekkei genkai in question, the one that caused these unbelievable facts, is called 'Kagayaki no Shunkan'- 'Instant of Brilliance'.

The reason why possessors of Kagayaki no Shunkan cannot activate it, is that _it activates itself_. And the condition for this activation is that the possessor must be in grave peril, or is desperate to the point of throwing his or her own life away. While not sentient in the sense of the word, Kagayaki no Shunkan is capable of acknowledging threat even if the user is unaware, such as when he or she is asleep or unconscious. This level of self-awareness is unique in bloodline limits, and one of the reasons why Kagayaki no Shunkan produces such astonishing results.

What the kekkei genkai _does_ is that when it activates, it forcefully alters the user's mind, to fit the situation. This change is temporary, but it lasts for as long as it needs to, and doesn't cause any adverse effect on the possessor.

Slowing down the user's perception of time to nothing, and completely shutting down potential distractions such as enemies or natural installations like wind or rain, Kagayaki no Shunkan's main purpose is to give the user time to think and plan in the middle of a stressful situation. The user's mind is boosted to work at optimal speed, and adrenaline and nerves are forcefully expelled from the body temporarily, to facilitate a calm state.

These symptoms often lead users to pass it off as an epiphany, or as a 'life passing in front of your eyes' phenomenon. A past user, a retired shinobi, once described it as: 'like you've died, and nothing matters in the world anymore. You have all the time you want to think about how to solve the situation. You can look at the situation objectively, as you've become a god or something. Omnipotence or omnipresent or one of those fancy words… anyway, you can analyse the situation, you can analyse your own abilities, your emotions have no say whatsoever in what you do. Everything is logical, everything just seems easy.' He later dubbed the effect, 'entering the "Divine State"'.

Usually, though, for Namikaze shinobi with their poor combat ability, the course of action that is decided by Kagayaki no Shunkan is simply to flee. And so they do, which is the reason for their absurd unkillability. Unfortunately, once the Namikaze reaches jounin level, the difficulty of missions and the lethality of enemies skyrocketing, ending in their deaths more often than not. They now had a responsibility to place sensitive missions in higher priority than their life, so fleeing was no longer an option. And in the event that they _did _decide to flee, the enemy most likely outclassed the Namikaze so much that it made not an iota of difference. They were only mediocre, after all, and Kagayaki no Shunkan could not produce miracles. It could only work with the material it started with.

On a related note, members of the Senju clan, of which the Namikaze is derived, can also access this Divine State, though only once in their life. Other offshoots of the Senju clan, such as the Uzumaki, have also been recorded using it unconsciously. But never more than once. The instances were only unrelated phenomena and not indicative of an identical kekkei genkai developing.

The reason for this is probably that members of the Senju clan retained the potential in their body or chakra for _half _of Kagayki no Shunkan, but could force a Divine State _once _in their life, using up the chance if they truly needed it. But when the Namikaze founder split from the parent clan and got married, his partner likely produced the missing link that produced a unique circumstance resulting in the ability to activate the 'Divine State' repeatedly.

As of recently, though, the Namikaze are all but extinct. Much like the Uzumaki, the family has been wiped out, with only a single known survivor. But in contrast to the Uzushio Purges, shinobi did not cause this tragedy.

A terrible plague had swept through Fire Country, claiming thousands of lives, the entire Namikaze family among them. All of them, except a bright-eyed young man with shockingly bright hair and a penchant for the ninja arts.

The Namikaze family are now gone, and practically nobody knew or cared. With them, died knowledge of a kekkei genkai that could potentially change the face of the shinobi world.

* * *

Now, before we actually start to explore our protagonist's adventures, there is one other facet of his story that needs to be explained.

Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows.

But rather than leave it to me to ineptly explain, why not let a _qualified _ninja instructor do it? Let us take a sojourn into the history worn halls of Konoha's Ninja Academy.

* * *

The grizzled instructor paced passionately in front of a class of students, his arms waving furiously in the air as he lectured at length.

'Without a doubt, Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows is one of the most obscure and mysterious jutsus ever created. Used exclusively by us, to the other villages, it has gained near-legendary status. Despite numerous bids to learn its secrets, they are no more enlightened to its enigmatic abilities than they were when they first heard of it.

Now, who can tell me why this is unusual?'

When no one volunteered, the instructor simply pointed to a bespectacled student in the front row.

'You, Brainiac,' he barked.

When the student in question looked confused, the instructor begrudgingly elaborated.

'Yes, I mean _you_, Four-Eyes. Go on, tell the class why it's unusual for Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows not to have been stolen by Iwa or some other hidden village? I set it for homework last week, so there is no excuse if you don't know.'

The boy did not seem put off, instead only being slightly irritated at his new nickname. He pushed his glasses further up his nose and read off his notes, which were compliled in a neat, organized pile in front of him.

'It is unusual, because this so-called 'secret' jutsu had an extremely wide distribution demographic. Practically every Konoha jounin is required to be able to use Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows proficiently- it is one of the prerequisites on the jounin promotion exam. Quite a large percentage of chuunin also learn the basics of the technique, and even some _genin _learn how to perform the mysterious jutsu. But usually the only genin who are taught are clan heirs or 'geniuses',' he read in a clear voice.

The instructor blinked for a few seconds before quickly responding.

'Er… that's correct, but next time, can you use words less than five syllables? Us _normal people _need to understand, here. Well, anyway, good answer. We'll go into that issue in a little more depth later on. The reason why Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows has not been recreated ties in very deeply with the very core of the technique. Like I said, we'll go over it later. Anyhow, onto a little bit of the history of the technique. Everyone, get out your notebooks, because you'll need to take this down- it'll be on the exam.'

He waited a few seconds for the rustling of papers to die down, before taking a swig of water and continuing his lecture.

'Invented a short while before the First Shinobi World War, 'Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows' was a major factor that regularly turned the tides in our favour during combat. It is one of the main reasons why we were, and still _are_ considered the 'strongest hidden village'- in fact, we've held the title ever since the establishment of the shinobi village system. It is an accepted fact that we hold the highest number of S-rank and A-rank shinobi in the entire Elemental Nations. Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows had a large part to play in creating and shaping those shinobi.

It was with an idea that the future Second Hokage had come up with during a family visit to Uzushiogakure, and combined with the advent of the mind specialist clan- the Yamanaka- 'Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows' was born.'

The instructor paused and looked around the classroom.

'Is everyone clear on how Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows works? Please raise your hand if you are still confused. This will be a massive part of your shinobi life later, so we need to be absolutely clear on how it works.'

A couple of students nervously raised their hands, looking anxious at the attention.

The instructor sighed but waved his hand dismissively.

'All right, this was explained in detail in your textbook, but it doesn't matter. I'll explain to you how it works again. Everyone, take notes- this'll be a long explanation. Hmm… how do I start?

Okay, simply, at its core, 'Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows' is simply specialization in a single field. While normally, specialization leads to gaping holes in a shinobi's defence or skill distribution, 'Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows' manages to effectively bypass that flaw with a rather ingenious method.

With the expertise of the Yamanaka clan, Tobirama Senju-sama (he wasn't the Hokage _yet_) managed to pinpoint a phenomenon in every person's psyche called the mindscape. Despite initial speculation that the mindscape was an internal reflection of a person's personality and characteristics, Tobirama-sama later concluded that it wasn't.

The mindscape, he theorized, was a place where the owner believes is most ideal for him or her. Obviously, his first guess wasn't too far off the target, because personality, preferences, experience and external influence all contribute a mindscape's appearance. An ambitious person may have a mindscape that is a lofty spire upon which he looks down on the rest of the world. A man battling with depression may only see his as a hole in the ground. My own mindscape is the classroom- I had always wanted to be a teacher of some sort when I was young, you see.'

At this point, the instructor gave a sheepish laugh and tapped the blackboard meaningfully.

Hearing a lull in the lesson, a girl in the second row raised her hand and asked a question.

'Um… sir? What happens if your ideal place changes? What if, say, your mindscape was originally your house, and then it got burnt down, or something?'

'Good question. Mindscapes are not concrete. People prone to mood swings or who are easily impressionable may find their mindscapes changing by the day. Usually people cannot view their mindscapes, except perhaps a fleeting glimpse in a particularly random dream. But we shinobi, who are trained to center ourselves and 'look underneath the underneath', may occasionally stumble upon it while meditating. Some shinobi, such as members of the Yamanaka clan, are able to access their mindscape at will.

Mindscapes, despite being reflections of the owner's mind, can be manipulated to an extent. When inside a mindscape, it is not unusual for someone to create items such as a torch or a road to ease their journey.'

He stopped here and took another gulp of water.

'Okay, I'm getting tired now, so why don't you read out of your textbooks for a while? In _Dangerous Leaves, _Edition Four, there's a whole chapter dedicated to Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows, starting on page sixty-four. I'm pretty sure the Third Edition also has a chapter for it, but I can't remember the page numbers- you'll have to look for it yourselves. Read the section regarding how Nidaime-sama managed to invent the technique. This will be featured on your unit test on Tuesday.'

Groans punctuated the silence, but each student grudgingly flipped open their copies of the textbook, and started to read.

* * *

_(Transcript from the Nidaime Hokage's Diary) _

_After discovering the mindscape, Tobirama sought to delve in further and unravel its secrets. Being a man who was very much interested in experimenting and creating new inventions, the discovery of such a place that resided in everyone was like a dream come true for the curious future Nidaime. _

_But after experimenting thoroughly, Tobirama discovered mindscapes sometimes contained strange 'rooms'. He first discovered this upon accidentally stumbling upon a jinchuuriki's mindscape, where he had an unfortunate encounter with the bijuu inside. Fortunately, the Tailed Beast was safe behind a wall of some sort… but there was still a door, a fact that he later admitted slightly scared him. _

_**QUOTE**_

'_The fact that there was a door represented the possibility that the bijuu could get out, and into the 'real' mindscape- potentially taking over the host's mind.' (Tobirama Senju)_

_In actual fact, Tobirama wasn't entirely sure what would happen if a distinctly different personality emerged in a person's mindscape. But he _was_ sure that he didn't want to find out, because it probably wasn't going to be good… especially if that personality was one of the bijuu (for more information about the __**bijuu**__, see Chapter 23). In a mental struggle against an unsealed bijuu, the host was sure to be overpowered._

_**Extended Study: The Case of Takiwada Nezumi**_

* * *

'Um, sir?'

'What is it, Braids?' asked the instructor, as he looked up from the book he was reading, giving the poor girl a derogatory nickname based off her appearance, as he was apt to do.

'Do you want us to read the Extended Study bit?' she asked, ignoring the insulting sobriquet.

She doubted the laidback instructor actually _knew _the real names of any of his students. This would probably be troublesome for him when it came time for writing reports, but she ignored this, as it wasn't her problem.

'Hmm… yeah. You don't need to do the questions, though. While the Extended Study isn't really needed at all to learn Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows, getting familiar with how the technique was developed is pretty useful, because it grants you a better understanding of how the jutsu works. Since this particular jutsu is rather complicated, with nuances and oddities that we _still _haven't figured out yet, the more you know about it, the less chance you'll have of blowing your own brains out.'

The girl nodded unenthusiastically and turned the page. _Jeez, this teacher sure likes to set bookwork… when are we going to do some practical stuff?_

* * *

_After the initial encounter with the mindscape, Tobirama did nothing in regards to research for a while, but was later reminded of the concept when he trespassed on an assassin's mindscape, who had been trying to infiltrate Konoha by acting as a mere merchant. Managing to evade suspicion for twenty years, the man decided to strike when the First Hokage was browsing through his goods, looking for something to buy. The moment he had drawn a weapon, though, he was instantly detained by ANBU, and taken to the interrogation cells._

_It was a strange case, because the assassin simply lacked the personality or body type required to be a shinobi. Initial tests revealed that he had no idea why he had tried to kill the Hokage and that he could not divulge anything incriminating, even under torture. Furthermore, even when a professional truth sensor was brought in to measure his chakra, the results surprised interrogators, as he apparently didn't even know how to handle some of the assassination equipment he was caught in the possession of. In addition, his stance and mindset seemed to indicate the lack any combat training. His apparent innocence, despite being caught red-handed, baffled all who handled the case._

_Tobirama, who was helping the still-growing Yamanaka clan with interrogations due to being one of the few people alive with experience of dealing with the psyches of enemy shinobi, was allocated to finding out how or why the assassin had tried to kill the Hokage._

_It was there, that Tobirama finally cracked the secret of the mindscapes. It turned out that the assassin actually had dissociative identity disorder, and one of the personalities had been an Iwa-trained shinobi assassin. The other had been clueless about his purpose in Konoha- in essence, only being an innocent merchant, because the other, darker, personality was able to switch in and out whenever he wanted through sheer force of will. _

_But after Tobirama had used his interrogation techniques to pluck the needed information forcefully from the captive's mind, he looked around his mindscape for a while. There might be village secrets that Iwa wanted to keep out of Konoha's hands, and that was never a good thing. _

_The merchant's mindscape was rather peaceful and idyllic, with a meandering stream in the middle of a boundless field, reflecting his carefree personality. But in the middle of a large hillock, there was an ominous door, leading underground. It was covered in locks and chains, obviously marking the domain of the second personality. _

_**QUOTE**_

'_The evident restrictions on the door seemed to signifying that the usual, cheerful personality had no way of influencing the darker one.' (Tobirama Senju)_

_Tobirama, ever cautious, simply blasted open the door, and entered. However, the interior was so different it surprised him. It was like he had entered a different world. The same basic layout of this mindscape was the same as the other one, but with undoubtedly sinister undertones. _

_**QUOTE**_

'_The sky was perpetually cloudy, and the trees had all been stripped of their leaves. The stream ran red with blood, and the hills were now composed of mountains of human corpses.' (Tobirama Senju)_

_Looking back at the entrance he had come from, he noticed that instead of the dark, chained door, there was a corresponding light mahogany one, without chains or locks. _

_But as he turned around to survey the landscape once more, he was suddenly set upon by a masked figure, attacking from behind. But despite the lack of reaction time afforded to him by the sudden attack, Tobirama Senju was still a kage-class warrior, and his opponent was only jounin-level, at best. In an exchange of blows that lasted only a few seconds, Tobirama pinned down the mysterious attacker and unmasked him. _

_It immediately confirmed his suspicion that the attacker was the 'inner' personality- the assassin unknowingly referenced by the 'outer' persona. The two looked nearly identical. After restraining the man with a water jutsu, Tobirama managed to raise a hypothesis._

_The two personalities that existed within the merchant were represented by separate entities, with separate mindscapes that were joined by a door. When the 'inner' personality surfaced, Tobirama speculated, then the mindscape probably most likely would change- the most obvious scenario would be that the two mindscapes swapped with each other. _

_But as he puzzled over this conundrum, he was struck with a strange thought._ "I wonder what'll happen if I push him through the door?"

_Although he usually wouldn't do such a reckless action to an allied volunteer, this man was an assassin who had tried to kill his brother, so Tobirama had no qualms about experimenting with his mindscape._

_With that thought in mind, Tobirama pushed against the mahogany handle, opened the door and carried his prisoner through._

_The effects were immediate. Firstly, the man on his shoulder disappeared instantly, the weight drop so noticeable that Tobirama nearly stumbled and it was only through years of shinobi practice that he stayed on his feet. And the second result of walking through that door was that somebody materialized in front of him. _

_In terms of appearance, the man in front of him closely resembled the man he had just fought. They were close enough to be twins, but there were subtle differences that an observant shinobi like Tobirama instantly picked up on. The eyes and face had a far softer appearance than the other man, and he also carried himself in a less wary posture, his centre of gravity too far back to be of any use in combat. _

_There was no doubt that this was the merchant- the 'outer' personality. So if he was here, than the outer personality must be…_

_And this was where Tobirama's research on the mindscape really kicked off._

* * *

Raising his hand in the air with a confused expression on his face, a student caught the teacher's attention.

'Sir?' he asked tentatively, 'I don't really get it. What was with the doors? The mindscape? It's really confusing.'

Immediately, the whole class erupted into a cacophony of jeers and yells.

'Maybe next time you should pay attention in class instead of sleeping, mate!' yelled out a blond classmate, who threw a balled up piece of paper at his head.

'You think you're good, but you're not!' shrieked a girl from the back, which prompted laughter from her cronies.

'Dude!' grumbled another boy, 'Nobody cares. If you don't understand, then just shut up and sleep like you usually do.'

The boy crossed his arms in front of his chest and merely sneered, 'Ah, shut up, you bunch of freaks!'

This induced even more heckling, although none of it seemed to be serious. In fact, many of the less serious students seemed to making a lot of noise on purpose, in order to disrupt the class and avoid doing work.

The instructor sighed, set down his book and slammed his fist against the blackboard. There was a loud _thwack, _and the room gradually quieted down.

'Seriously, guys,' he said with a half amused smile on his face, 'do you need to make such a fuss _every _time Class Clown here makes a comment? Well, whatever. Anyway… you. Class Clown. Since you seem intent on disrupting my class, I might as well explain this in a different way. Listen carefully, kay?'

'Yeah, yeah. Can you do it in like… baby terms or something? This shit is really confusing.'

The instructor tilted his head as he thought. Finally, he nodded.

'Mmm… okay, think about it like this. Your psyche is an invisible table, which of course means you aren't able to interact or see it- this translates into real life as well.'

'What, translates to invisible tables?'

At this, the class once again exploded into a frenzy of sound.

'No, you dumbass!'

'Are you fried? Did you get dropped on your head when you were a baby?'

'Just die already! You better not make it past genin, or you'll ruin Konoha!'

'He means you can't interact with your general psyche, not the bloody table! Do you _ever _pay attention?'

The boy only turned up his nose and retorted, blowing a raspberry as he did so.

'Feh… I knew that, idiots! Bleh~!'

Before the situation could escalate into a full blown physical conflict like this class was apt to commit to, the instructor banged the table once more.

'Listen up, you maniacs! You, Class Clown, shut up and pay attention. If you ask a question, you better listen to the bloody answer. Okay… where were we?

Oh yeah… if your psyche is a table, then your mindscape would be represented by the face of the coin, laid down flat on the table. Now, what is a characteristic of the face of a coin?'

He held up a hundred ryo coin, and when he was met with blank faces, slowly rotated it.

Immediately, a girl in the second row sent her hand rocketing into the air, simultaneously exclaiming, 'It has two sides!'

The instructor nodded, 'Correct. So if one side is the mindscape, then this other side… is the alternate mindscape, where the second personality of the merchant resided. When the second personality emerges, the coin is flipped over, so to speak.

So let's say the side of the coin which has Shodaime's face engraved on it is the personality of the 'merchant'. The side of the coin with the Will of Fire on it is the personality of the assassin, okay? Of course, when the coin is on the table, only one face can be seen. Either Shodaime or the Will of Fire. The Merchant or the Assassin. Okay?

And so when Nidaime-sama forced the alternate personality into the main mindscape, it was like trying to flip over the coin while keeping one face pressed against the table. The mindscape immediately righted itself so that one personality was conscious and the other was kept buried inside the mind. Get it now, Clown?'

The boy screwed up his face and nodded hesitantly.

'Think so…'

'Well then, keep on reading!'

* * *

_After that particular incident, Tobirama worked feverishly, trying to replicate the mindscape split that he had witnessed inside the assassin's mind. To him, the fact that the man gained shinobi abilities only when the 'inner' personality was in control was a golden opportunity. If abilities could be changed with personalities, the possibilities could be endless, especially for infiltration and assassination purposes._

_But after sixth months of no results, a frustrated Tobirama put the project aside and began to experiment with other techniques and jutsus. Tobirama loved creating and meddling with chakra. It was his hobby, and he was responsible for contributing more jutsu to Konoha's repertoire than the entire Konoha Jutsu Science department, a professional group dedicated to creating new and useful chakra techniques. _

_And, it was during one of his _experiments_ that Tobirama managed to create an extra room in his mindscape, completely by accident. It was all thanks to a strange genjutsu that Tobirama was messing with. The desired effect was that the target would be forced to confront himself in a battle that raged across his subconscious. Obviously, due to his copy having the same powers and abilities as him, the target would be locked in a stalemate that would allow the caster to incapacitate him from the outside easily. Unfortunately, Tobirama managed to accidentally cast it on himself, and found himself suddenly in the company of a strange doppelganger in his mindscape. _

_To his surprise, the doppelganger did not wish to fight, as it had obtained Tobirama's own peaceful and rational disposition, a serious flaw in the jutsu's concept. And even when Tobirama managed to successfully dispel the genjutsu, when he entered his mindscape during meditation a week later, he was shocked to see that his doppelganger was now living there, having created its own room, a feat not even the original had achieved. _

_As another unexpected side effect of the genjutsu, it turned out that the doppelganger had obtained an extremely accelerated rate of mental growth that lasted only a few minutes. This phenomenon allowed the doppelganger to take in and fully analyse the first location that he appeared in- in this case, the mindscape. _

_Because the doppelganger had Tobirama's own personality, and knew exactly _why_ he wanted to learn about the mindscapes, he had no qualms with revealing all that he learned. _

_The doppelganger explained that the dimensional 'rooms' could only be created with the introduction of a distinctly different personality, which explained how no matter how Tobirama manipulated his mindscape, he could not initiate the growth of a second one. These other personas lived inside the rooms, and if they took over the body, then their own personal dimension temporarily became the default one. He also mentioned that despite being exactly the same person as Tobirama, he strangely felt no desire to take over the body, a sentiment that he definitely would have expressed had he felt he was being trapped within someone's consciousness against his will._

_Putting that observation aside, Tobirama and his doppelganger hashed out a plan between them, laying down the groundwork for Tobirama's magnum opus as a jutsu creator- the Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows. _

* * *

'Okay, is everyone finished reading the Extended Study?' asked the instructor after he felt a sufficient amount of time had passed.

'Well, I don't care if you haven't. Read it for homework. After the Extended Study, the chapter goes on to explain how to use Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows more effectively. You don't need to read it, because I'm going to explain it on the blackboard now. Listen and take notes.'

He turned and pressed his palm against the blackboard. Immediately, glowing blue lines spread out across the dark surface and immediately began to wriggle and shake, slowly forming legible words that fit neatly across the board in straight lines. It was a useful technique used commonly in classrooms called 'Spell Engraver,' and was a useful alternative to writing notes manually. The downside was that it was only temporary, as it relied on constant chakra intake, as well as needing precise control to shape it into words.

The instructor took his palm off the blackboard, knowing the words would not disappear, and began to talk once more.

'As you may have guessed, Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows involves creating extra personalities, called 'Formes', that can take over a shinobi's body and fight for him.'

'But, sir, what difference does having someone who has the exact same abilities and skills as you fight make? If you are both the same, then there's no point,' asked a boy in the third row, his arm held up listlessly.

'But on that point, you are incorrect. The original consciousness and the Formes are not the same. Although constructed 'from the same mould', so to speak, the power and skills that the Formes wield are up to the original personality to decide, depending on his desires and will.

Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows is initiated with an amalgamated technique that borrows elements from the strange genjutsu that Nidaime-sama accidentally performed, the basic Yamanaka Mind-Body Switch Jutsu, and various forced meditation chakra exercises.

This only needs to be performed once, to establish a connection to the mindscape and create the first personality.

The first being summoned by Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows is a little strange. It is not a Forme, per se. It cannot, under any circumstances, take over the main body. Instead, it acts as a catalyst for the creation of additional Formes, after itself.

Like the first doppelganger summoned by Nidaime-sama in that fateful accident with the genjutsu, the first personality instinctively knows the basics of how to operate the mindscape and is so tasked with helping the original use the technique to its fullest capacity. The first personality's duty, in this regard- creating the 'doors' wherein lies the power within Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows- is what lead to most Konoha shinobi dubbing it 'the Gatekeeper'.

The Gatekeeper is the one responsible for ensuring the safety of the user, and so, is granted with a temperament that is sensible and rational- overwriting the original nature, no matter how radical it may have be. Although the Gatekeeper rarely participates in battle, on the rare occasions that a user of Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows tries to overpower the Gatekeeper in an attempt to abuse the technique and take the short route to power, they will find that the Gatekeeper is their equal, in every way that matters.'

The class representative, a serious looking girl with swept back violet hair, raised her hand in the air.

'Wouldn't the brainwashing of the Gatekeeper constitute as a violation of the basic rights? Even as shinobi, we of the Leaf Village have a moral duty to maintain dignity and ethics even in the midst of brutality and war. Furthermore, as the Gatekeeper was originally a carbon copy of your own personality, aren't you brainwashing and enslaving yourself? Technically, a free Konoha citizen?'

The instructor laughed boisterously at this, chortling, 'Little Miss, you are naïve. But I like that about you. You might die because of that, but that's up to whether your jounin sensei can beat it out of you in time.

Okay… think about the Gatekeeper as a clone. You all know how to perform the Clone Jutsu, right? Well, there's a more advanced version of that called the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Shadow Clones have a physical body and move independently of the caster. At an intrinsic level, they are no different from us. However, all clones will die sooner or later, their short-lived memories and experiences cut short. Are you going to blame Sandaime-sama, who is a proficient user of the Shadow Clone technique, for letting his clones die? Even if it lets him survive, which is in order to protect us? Can you, Little Miss?'

She fell silent at this, but wore an obstinate, smouldering look on her face.

'Anyway,' continued the instructor, 'The creation of another personality is an irreversible process, and much thought and deliberation should be placed on the final decision. If thought out correctly, then the new personality could have the power to crush all opponents without trouble. If thought out hastily, then it could have the power to get the user killed.

While before, I stated that the new Formes had access to abilities and skills not available to the original… but that, strictly speaking, is incorrect. Hmm… how do I put this in a way that you dumbasses can understand?

Okay, if one were to think about it in terms of a generic role-playing game, than the skills and abilities of a ninja would be the skill tree. Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows cannot let the user learn new jutsus and techniques right away, at the drop of a hat. What it _can _do, is rearrange the user's _stats, _or physical and mental specs.

For example, maxing out physical attack power, or speed- the intrinsic values of the user's physical body or chakra are changed. Also, the Formes can be programmed to be focused on a single field, such as taijutsu, or genjutsu.

Of course, these advantages are offset by a harsh compromise- namely, a drop in another skill, quality or field. For example, if you focused on attack, then your defense might drop harshly, or your speed.

And _this _is where the new abilities come in. With the completely customizable personalities, an intelligent ninja may be able to find ways to use techniques that he might not be able to use normally. An example of this is using a high damage, self-sacrificial ritual attack while 'wearing' a Forme with extremely high defense. Or a high drain finishing attack while wearing a Forme with vast chakra reserves.

The Gatekeeper is responsible for negotiating with the caster in finding acceptable terms for the creation of the new Forme. Thankfully, he or she, being completely sympathetic to the plight of the user, will always do his or her best to find the most effective combination, using the logical and analytical mind he or she had been granted. Little Miss, we'll see how much you resent the 'brainwashing' after it creates a Forme that will save your life, eh?'

Said girl merely pouted and flipped him the bird.

In return he threw one of the unused pieces of chalk that lay on the table at her forehead, before continuing his talk, mindful of the dwindling time.

'Famous examples of effective combinations that the Third Hokage himself uses, as the most accomplished user of the technique alive, include a Speed Forme with low durability, a Defense Forme with low speed, Sensor, Analyst and Administration Formes with low combat ability, and a War Forme with low empathy and emotion.

Due to the introduction of multiple Formes, there is no need to be conservative. There is no need to neglect raising attack, fearing that the offsetting defense drop could hurt you, as you can simply create a Defense Forme to protect you from damage. It is this aspect of specialization that grants our shinobi great combat strength.

But there is still the inherent risk of being too slow in changing Formes, and allowing the relative jack-of-all-trades enemy ninja attack your glaring, crippling weakness, but that is exactly why the technique is taught mainly to jounin- by that time, they should be old and mature enough to recognize the dangers of being too reckless in assigning strengths and weaknesses.

As a side note, each Forme is also represented by a number, and when that Forme is activated, the number will appear on the user's body in a designated location, with a set size, which could range from a few centimetres wide, to stretching across someone's entire back.

The Formes will naturally increase in general attributes through general training, but specialized training while using that particular Forme will serve to speed up development in that Forme especially fast.

With the sheer power and potential that the Formes symbolize, most users will have up to five Formes, and will focus their training on those Formes, as well as their normal 'Forme' (it is technically not a Forme, but most users will refer to it as such, as switching back to normal feels much the same as changing to a new Forme). This method has been proven to be more effective than creating many untrained Formes that the user is not familiar with.

But despite this, there is a number of gifted Konoha shinobi who are able to use many Formes very effectively. They are usually close to or above S-class in power. Some notable examples are Kakashi Hatake, who has twelve Formes, Jiraiya of the Sannin, with twenty-two Formes, Kushina Uzumaki, who had fifteen Formes, Minato Namikaze, who had twenty Formes, and Hiruzen Saruobi, who has twenty-five Formes. These aforementioned shinobi, though, are definitely freaks of nature, who acknowledge that by doing so they are not as efficient as they would be if they focused their training on a single Forme, but instead they all chose to use the adaptability and sheer number of options that are open to them by using a large number of Formes.

But among the infinite possibilities of different variation Formes, there are two worth mentioning here that are particularly interesting. Note these down, because they'll definitely be on the test.

These Formes, while _technically _following the conventions of normal Formes, hold particularly intriguing effects. They are… the Berserker Forme and the Maximum Forme.

The Berserker Forme has become more and more popular with the younger generation of jounins as a last-ditch effort to defeat an enemy, much to the Third Hokage's displeasure. Possessing extreme power in all aspects and having no corresponding weaknesses, the Berserker Forme is extremely effective if used well. Unfortunately, the compromise that had been taken was the user's sanity and control. When using the Berserker Forme, the shinobi is reduced to a mere beast that attacks everything in sight. It cannot differentiate between friend and foe. The normal Forme is unable to regain control until the beast is subdued or it has reduced all surrounding objects to rubble and corpses. It is truly a double-edged sword, and a terrifying opportunity.

The Maximum Forme, on the other hand, is a more dangerous Forme than the Berserker Forme in an entirely different way. Possessing even more power than the Berserker Forme, (to the point where an average jounin could become godlike) but retaining the all-encompassing distribution- in the Maximum Forme, the user will still retain his sanity, but the cost is greater this time, still. For every second that the user spends in this Forme, he will lose a day off his lifeforce. A desperate man with nothing to lose, if he possessed this power, could devastate the world.'

Silence spread through the classroom as they digested this information. The writing on the blackboard had changed to dictate what the instructor was saying, but now depicted a scene of devastation in clear blue lines. A crater stood in the ruins of what had been, unmistakably, Konoha. Everything was rubble and corpses littered the ground, torn apart and barely recognizable. Standing in the middle of the crater was a young man in tattered clothes, clothes that might have once been a jounin uniform. He was haggard, with his flesh nearly falling off his clearly defined bones, but he still wore a manic smile on his face, even as teeth fell out of deteriorating gums.

With a wave of his hand, the instructor dispelled the drawing, in order to take a question fro a clearly shaken boy.

'If its so powerful, why hasn't other countries stolen its secrets and used it against Konoha?'

The instructor smiled grimly, without mirth.

'True, a technique of such untold potential, has certainly been hunted for by enemy nations keenly, but thanks to a failsafe that Nidaime-sama built in, the technique has been successfully kept in Konoha's hands. When the Gatekeeper is created, it is granted with a number of mental advantages that allow it to fulfill its function as an aide and guide for the user to effectively use Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows. But alongside these, it is also imparted with a safety switch that takes the user's loyalty to Konoha into question. If the user ever betrays Konoha, then the Gatekeeper will automatically seal every door in the user's mindscape, preventing the user from accessing Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows at all.

Furthermore, the Gatekeeper also forcibly suppresses all specifics on how to perform the technique from the user's own memory, hiding it from view. This failsafe also triggers in the event of torture, but the downside to it is that the suppression also has the unfortunate side effect of temporary amnesia, which could prove counterproductive if the enemy manages to convince the captive that they are an enemy of Konoha.'

Just as he said these words, the bell rang.

But even the usually restless boys who usually sprinted for the door at this time sat, shell-shocked as their minds struggled to comprehend the power that their superiors wielded.

This amazing technique, Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows, will become a large part of our own protagonist's life, dictating many of his battles and decisions. Indeed, in several cases, his life will depend on how well he can use the limitless potential of this technique.

* * *

Thanks to my awesome beta, MisterKuma. He's a boss.

And he says the next chapter _will _be better. Probably.


	5. Chapter 5

And, finally... the protagonist is going to appear!

... Next chapter.

_Do you hate me now, assholes?_

* * *

The Kyuubi was smart. Of that there was no doubt. Despite many bijuu specialists claiming to the contrary, there are many recorded incidents where particular Tailed Beasts have conversed with humans in a somewhat cordial manner, the Kyuubi among them.

The Third Hokage, one of the oldest living shinobi in active service, still remembers one incident when he witnessed one of his mentors, the First Hokage himself; actually hold a halfway-civilised conversation with the Kyuubi.

When reports had come in that the Kyuubi was attacking a small village in the countryside of Fire Country, the First Hokage had immediately set out to save the people, being one of the few people to actually be able to regularly subdue and control Tailed Beasts. On the way over, however, he met up with his brother and his genin team, who had just returned from a routine mission.

Feeling that having another kage-class shinobi on his side as insurance was too good an opportunity to miss, Hashirama asked Tobirama to accompany him. He knew that one could never be too careful when dealing with demon lords, especially one as powerful as the Kyuubi.

Meanwhile, the genin team, including a young Hiruzen, were forced to tag along, because Tobirama, in his eagerness to confront the Kyuubi, forgot to sign them back into the village. It would do no good if the Hokage's brother was seen neglecting protocol, and there wasn't enough time to take a detour back to the village.

Accepting the situation and summoning a wood guardian, Hashirama had it carry the genin, who could not possibly keep up with the absurd travelling pace that the adults set. Thanks to that little bit of innovative thinking, the party managed to reach the disaster area in little more than an hour.

Due to the danger of the situation, the genin had to stay a far way back from the actual village, but thanks to the colossal size of the Kyuubi, the action was easily visible from where they were hiding.

First of all, the First Hokage started off by stopping the Kyuubi from continuing its unchallenged rampage over the village by summoning huge wooden structures carved with esoteric designs and shaped like large dragon heads.

These wooden totems erupted in a circle around the Kyuubi, visible bonds of pure chakra forming a boundary around the enormous beast, restricting its movements. Large wooden beams then grew from the dragon heads, creating a tangible fence-like structure that contrasted with the glowing chakra to make what seemed like a _very _sturdy barrier.

Standing on one of the wooden towers right in front of the Kyuubi's nose, stood the First Hokage, who stared defiantly at the gargantuan fox, his heroic silhouette casting an awe-inspiring shadow. Then, to the astonishment of all that were watching, he proceeded to _argue _with the enormous beast.

Or at least, that's what everyone _thought _he was doing. No one was actually close enough to tell- no one was _stupid _enough to get close enough to tell, sorry. But the constant growling that rumbled ominously from the distant Kyuubi continually varied enough in pitch for a keen listener to deduce that it could very well be discernibly talking in a recognizable language.

In addition to this, it was also moving in a very human manner, shaking its head and flailing its tails in what might have been described as an 'agitated state', save for the fact that even a skilled sensor such as Tobirama could not feel any unsettled or malicious chakra. But there was definitely no hostile movements of any sort breaking out. _Whatever _the First Hokage was doing, it was completely nonviolent.

And… the Kyuubi hadn't _eaten _or _incinerated _him yet, which was more than could be said for the vast majority of those who faced the Kyuubi, so… whatever he was doing… it seemed to be _working._

Abruptly, the Kyuubi lay down, resting its enormous chin on its paws in a way that resembled a dog's. The tails, which had been until now restlessly swishing about, gently curled around its side, creating a veritable mountain of fur that cascaded around the Kyuubi in a majestic shroud.

To compensate for the sudden height decrease in his conversational partner, the First Hokage's platform then lowered until he was once more at eye-height with the monstrous youkai, the connecting poles following suit and also dropping low.

Judging by the sudden absence of the ever-present growls, and by the way the Kyuubi was nodding its head at regular intervals, the genin team (who were, by now, completely in awe of their leader for managing to face the Kyuubi and survive) concluded that it was listening to a suggestion that the Hokage was pitching to it.

Eventually, the two seemed to have come to some sort of agreement. The wooden stockade sank into the ground tracelessly, and the tiny dot that was the First Hokage started to make his way back to the genin he had left. The Kyuubi, meanwhile, let out what could only be described as a barking laugh, and got up, leaving in a… less destructive manner.

Afterwards, no matter how hard Tobirama (who had been hidden away in a vantage point, ready to intervene in the case that the Kyuubi got violent) tried to get his brother to explain what he had done, the First Hokage stayed clammed up and only deigned to smile enigmatically.

The Kyuubi was next seen attacking Iwagakure and Earth Country, romping around in a particularly sadistic manner.

Haven't having experienced an attack from the Kyuubi in recent years (Earth Country was traditionally home to the Yonbi and Gobi, who were drastically less destruction-prone), Iwa was devastatingly unprepared for the disaster, and subsequently lost much of the invasion force with which it had planned to assault Konoha with.

Poor them.

* * *

… Anyway, the Kyuubi was undoubtedly a very intelligent individual, further proven by the way it consistently manages to thwart highly trained shinobi units sent to seal it. And like all intelligent, sentient beings, the Kyuubi disliked having its freedom restricted.

And so, naturally, being sealed, which was basically being thrown into a cramped prison cell in solitary confinement, was something the Kyuubi hated with a passion.

After having experienced being sealed on three separate occasions (incidentally, this was the _least_ number of sealings among the known bijuu), the Kyuubi was, at the time of its fourth imprisonment, thoroughly sick of the occurrence.

So it desperately tried everything it could think of to try and escape. At first, its efforts turned up no positive results. The seal was the tightest and most impenetrable it had ever seen. There seemed to be no cracks or weak points in the structure- no flaws for the Kyuubi to exploit.

Although the elaborate construction possessed a number of intricate, complicated functions that even the Kyuubi (who had a wealth of knowledge that no mortal could ever hope to match) could only wonder at the purpose, they were all firmly, unshakably entrenched in the seal's defense matrix.

To the Kyuubi, the seal was like the sky. Untouchable, inescapable, ever-present. No matter what it tried, the Kyuubi could not escape it, could not budge it. The seal watched over everything the bijuu did, a silent reminder of the daunting incarceration.

But then the relentless bijuu found the gap.

* * *

In newly created jinchuuriki, it is conventional to create a deliberate 'gap' in the sealing matrix. This was so that the infant's body and chakra coils could have time to adjust and assimilate the bijuu's awesome might. If there was no gap, and the infant could not adapt to the bijuu in time, then terrible tragedies were apt to occur.

A prime example of this is the Hachibi. Kumogakure, the hidden village located in its traditional stomping grounds, has had an extremely poor history in sealing the ushi-oni. The number of Hachibi jinchuuriki number in the hundreds, and the majority of them died early, some even perishing even days after having accepted the seal.

There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, Kumo was atrocious with fuuinjutsu. Neglecting to incorporate it at all in the shinobi curriculum, fuuinjutsu is only practised by a select few specialist sealing masters. These sealing experts dedicate their whole careers to learning and contributing to the art of fuuinjutsu, casting away any chance of a normal shinobi career. While their quality of sealing isn't bad, per se, the sheer lack of numbers is the reason why Kumo has, by far, the least amount of sealing expertise in the Five Great Villages.

And this lack of skill is what causes a number of basic oversights in regards to general procedure when sealing a bijuu. First of all, Kumo had not yet caught on to the basic fact that sealing a bijuu into a newborn is the most effective. Infants, who haven't developed an extensive chakra circulatory system yet, are easily adaptable, and can generally alter their physical makeup to better suit the enormous power of a bijuu. But older children, especially shinobi, are less versatile, and having a powerful construct with immeasurable chakra reserves forced into their bodies is usually met with insanity, lack of control and death. This also had the nasty side-effect of releasing the angry bijuu, who usually felt the need to rampage over the insolent ninja village which had tried to seal it.

Secondly, the initial sealing needed to be accompanied with a 'gap' between the wards and the confinement seals. Unfortunately, Kumo, after initially managing to seal the Hachibi successfully _once, _as a fluke, came to reuse the exact same seal over and over again in an attempt to recreate the success. But all people are different, and the number of Hachibi jinchuuriki that were compatible with the first seal merely numbered in the single digits. Kumo never managed to grasp this, though, and that uncompromising seal drove many potentially great shinobi to their deaths, because there was insufficient time or space for the jinchuuriki to accept their burden.

The Nibi jinchuuriki only compounded this problem, as being a lower tier bijuu, there wasn't any need for much of a buffer gap. Deaths rarely occurred when sealing the Nibi, which was generally quite docile anyway (…relatively).

Luckily, Konoha had much more able practitioners of the art.

* * *

So while the gap in the seal was to make sure that the newly created jinchuuriki does not reject the bijuu (or vice-versa), this gap does not always remain. Soon after the initial sealing, proficient fuuinjutsu users are called in to adjust the seal over a period of five weeks, manually maintaining the seal to accommodate for changes in the jinchuuriki's physique or psyche. This allows the bijuu's power to lie in sync with the host's- allowing for easier use of the bijuu's power, and also ironing over any kinks in the seal that stopped the pair from interacting in harmony.

Unfortunately, in Naruto's case, the usual procedure could not be followed. Due to his seal's complexity, there were only two registered Konoha shinobi qualified enough to interfere with the work of the Fourth Hokage.

Prior to the attack there would have been two, but unfortunately, they had died in the horrific disaster. I'm sure you are familiar with them, as we have discussed them at length. One was Kushina Uzumaki, who, being a pureblood scion of the famous Uzumaki clan of Uzushiogakure, had access to their obscure kekkei genkai- Ryuuketsu no Senmonka. It was only natural that she had access to the clan's godlike sealing abilities- it was written into her genes, an inherent talent that was as much a part of her as her signature red hair.

The other, of course, was the creator of the seal- the Fourth Hokage. Minato Namikaze always had an instinctive talent for fuuinjutsu. He possessed an intuition for the art that bordered on psychic, and many accomplished and experienced seal masters have heralded him as a genius. After marrying Kushina, his aptitude for the art only grew, as he gleaned techniques and idiosyncrasies from her seals and incorporated them into his own designs. She could not teach him the Uzumaki-exclusive spiral sealing style, even if they were lovers, but Minato was gifted enough to analyse and dissect certain parts of the style and then allow it to influence his own.

But sadly, they perished in the attack, an event that was documented earlier, and Konoha lost two extremely valuable shinobi- two ninjas who stood at the top of the world in the art of fuuinjutsu.

But of course, there were two other seal masters of their calibre, but… complications _will_ arise, especially in a crisis situation like the Kyuubi attack. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, although a proficient seal master, was forced to reclaim the position of Hokage, and was thus subsequently saddled with the responsibility of organising the recovery of Konoha after the Kyuubi's attack. The logistics of such an undertaking was huge, with devastating loss in manpower and a large chunk of the village infrastructure unsalvageably gone. The Hokage had to quickly and efficiently maintain Konoha's façade as a working shinobi village, and simultaneously work on bringing the shinobi forces back up to par. He simply did not have enough time or energy to perform exhausting and time-consuming inspections on an infant's belly.

And the other Konoha seal master, Jiraiya of the Sannin, was involved in duties that were no less vital to Konoha's future. Although he held a much lower public image due to his infrequent appearances in the village proper, in truth, he was working as hard as he could to keep Konoha's intelligence and foreign relations up to date and running smoothly. Despite forced to accomplish this practically singlehandedly, Jiraiya was nonetheless quite successful in his endeavour. He managed to dissuade neutral powers on capitalising on Konoha's weakened state, and he also launched covert sabotage attacks on some of the more war-prone nations, stalling any military actions on their part. He could not afford to stay in the village, as Konoha _needed _him to be out in the field, to search for any impending attacks.

So, the gap in Naruto's seal remained open. It was like an invitation for the Kyuubi to capitalise on.

Naturally, it did.

* * *

The Kyuubi had seen a lot of mindscapes in its long life. Being a kitsune, it used to use overpoweringly powerful genjutsu to forcibly collapse humans' psyches, just for fun. But that was a couple of centuries ago. Nowadays, it favoured the pleasure of crushing stuff with pure force. They each had their own satisfying benefits, but the Kyuubi liked force better- it was just so cathartic- like stomping on ants.

But the point is, the Kyuubi used to trespass on a _lot _on human mindscapes. I'm talking in the thousands. There was a point in time where it had become obsessed with the variety and depth of the human mindscape- something it did not have itself. But after experiencing so many mindscapes, it eventually grew bored of the phenomenon- it had reached the point where nothing made an impact anymore, because the Kyuubi had seen so many of them.

Believing that it had learned all that there was to learn about mindscapes, the Kyuubi lost interest, and reverted back to crushing humans, believing that they were no longer of any value.

But despite its vast experience in accessing and crushing the psyches of humans, when the Kyuubi was first sealed, centuries later, it was completely and utterly shocked by the quality of the mindscape it found. The detail and potential that surrounded it was so much different from those that had been victims of its genjutsu.

The scale alone was staggeringly big- unlike the ones it had seen in the past, which had ranged from as small as a single room to as big as a large field, the Kyuubi's first jinchuuriki's mindscape was that of an entire village.

It was the village that the first Kyuubi jinchuuriki, Mito Uzumaki, helped to build. It had become as much of a home to her as the beautiful rock huts of her native Uzushiogakure. Her husband was the beloved leader of the place, and as his wife, she had an obligation to become as much of a symbol as him. She soon integrated herself in it so thoroughly that soon the populace loved her as much as any other high profile Konoha noble.

Mito truly loved the village- Konohagakure. And as such, it was recreated as her mindscape- her ideal place. She loved every house, every wall, every person. Her love encompassed it all. And it was all represented, realistically detailed, in her mind- imprinted on her subconscious.

The Kyuubi had been truly stunned by witnessing this. Vowing to find out more about mindscapes- to see what had changed in humans to be able to create such wonderful dimensions, the Kyuubi bided its time. After Mito had died, and the Kyuubi had been released from its human prison, it once again searched for an answer to its conundrum. Unfortunately for it, it could not find anything different from its first venture into mindscape research.

It was not until it was caught and sealed for a second time while travelling through Whirlpool Country that it experienced a similar incident. But this time, unlike Mito's elaborate and monumental set up, this particular mindscape was infinitely smaller and cruder. Really, it was nothing more than a rock cave hewn into a cliff overlooking the tumultuous ocean.

But despite the lack of features that the mindscape held, the Kyuubi could still not help but notice that the calibre of every single object- even the _air, _held an indefinable distinction that simply _resonated _with the bijuu in a way that it was not comfortable with admitting. Everything seemed so _real, _yet also held a sort if diaphanous quality, as if in a dream. The vivid colours burned themselves into the Kyuubi's retinas, the smells seared themselves into its snout, the sensations penetrated the beast to its core.

And with the subsequent third sealing, the Kyuubi finally accepted a suspicion that it had been harbouring for centuries as fact. The third mindscape was a wide basin of water that sat in the eye of a whirlpool, the raging waters punctuated intermittently with personal belongings that the host felt were most precious. Again, the Kyuubi experienced the strangely piercing eminence that the mindscape held. It was then that it realised, that _this _was how a human perceived its mindscape. A kitsune forcing entry through genjutsu could only ever witness a diluted, watered-down version.

The Kyuubi had been lucky, as being sealed had effectively rendered it a part of the jinchuurki's psyche- a vital indicator of who the host was. This allowed it to experience the mindscape in the same position as the host. Feeling oddly sentimental, it decided to learn all it could about the 'true' human mindscapes in order to obtain one for itself.

The Kyuubi was a lonely creature. In all the beings that lived in the Elemental Nations, only the other eight bijuu could come close to it in terms of power and even they were considered weak when compared to the Kyuubi's unrivalled destructive capabilities. The overwhelming difference in power led to the Kyuubi's tendency to regard all other life forms as inferior and insignificant- useful only for crushing underfoot. There was nobody it could talk to, nobody to have a friendly spar. It was alone.

While there were indeed a couple of divinebeings, these remained aloof from the Elemental Nations, preferring to stay in their own personal dimensions, unless summoned by a mortal contract. These beings were definitely stronger than the Kyuubi, and in turn, suffered from a more mild form of the fox's own disposition. They did not consider other beings as having no worth, but there were definitely no equals, either.

They treated the Kyuubi as a younger sibling or small child, playfully teasing the volatile bijuu, or purposefully enraging it. Despite the Kyuubi's respect for them, they reciprocated this with perhaps a little too much enthusiasm or friendliness- a stark contrast from their impassive facades that were utilised with mortal dealings.

The Kyuubi was stuck in a position that was unique from all others. On a level of its own, sandwiched between insects and gods, it constantly felt the pain of never fitting in. This led to its obsession with the human mindscapes- a place dedicated to it alone sounded perfect.

Which led to its current predicament- being sealed in yet _another _host.

* * *

One thing that the Kyuubi had noticed stayed constant in each of its sealings was the cages. It was a never changing factor that remained with it- an unwanted companion that silently watched the fox's every move.

It did not necessarily take the same form, but it was always there- isolating the great Kyuubi from the rest of the host's mindscape. Their appearances and sizes varied, but they were always impenetrable- a confronting, yet apparently insurmountable obstacle in the path of the great bijuu.

The Kyuubi had been imprisoned in a cage with bars made with steel, engraved with golden intricacies. It had been in a cage made from rough-hewn rock. It had experienced an underwater cage with iron bars interwoven with veritable forests of kelp. But it had never been a cage such as the one it found itself in at the present. It was like nothing it had ever seen before, even with its inconceivable mountain of knowledge and experience.

The bars of the cage were now pitch black, cast from a material that seemed to absorb light, even from the near absolute darkness that the Kyuubi was sitting in. They were as thick as the trunk of an Ancient, and seemed just as durable (the Kyuubi knew this was probably false- mindscape cages always felt the same… unbreakable).

But curiously, the Kyuubi could not seem to penetrate the gaps between the bars with any chakra, which was strange. The Kyuubi had always been able to influence and interact with the host- it was part of its expected duties as an imprisoned bijuu.

It knew the cage was a representation of the physical seal that had been used to bind it to the host, and the fact that it was seemingly impenetrable was an undeniable shock to the great beast, as it was unaware that humans had progressed the art of fuuinjutsu to this degree. Not even throwing a tail's worth of chakra against the seal (something that it had learned from prior experience would make both jinchuuriki and bijuu violently sick for a week) would produce any discernable results.

The Kyuubi paused to both curse and praise the Fourth Hokage in the same breath. It knew he was a worthy person to receive even the Death God's compliments, but it was rather angry at having to personally feel the results of the skills that had earned the pesky human that praise.

But hope was not lost, as it had felt, with its chakra, a small human shaped hole near the ground. It had never seen anything like it, but perhaps it was an opportunity to venture out and see if it could figure out any specifics of this strange, unprecedented situation.

* * *

Inside an otherwise blank corridor, there stood an open door. Despite the corridor being relatively well lit, the room inside the door was completely dark, and nothing could be made out at all. There was a black number plate attached to the door- it held only the numeral, '0'.

Suddenly, a red stream of energy slowly trickled out of the room and into the corridor. It gathered together and coalesced into a bumpy mass that floated, unmoving, in the air. Twisting and stretching, it slowly assumed the shape of a small fox, for all the world looking like a completely normal animal apart from the fact that it had the texture of solid light.

Slowly, methodically, it lowered itself until its paws touched the ground. Then, trotting over to the door, it stuck its head in inquisitively. It looked around in confusion, pupils dilating as they tried in vain to see past the dark curtain.

The Kyuubi, for that was who it was (obviously), was bewildered. _Why do I have so little chakra? I don't even have half a tail's worth, _it thought. _Speaking of which, I'm sure the hole in the seal wasn't in the shape of a perfect rectangle. Hmm… oh well, I don't need too much chakra anyway. There shouldn't be anyone in here. I'll just explore a bit. Ah… damn… I can feel the old instincts coming back. This form is too young for me… oh screw it; I'll just let it take over._

The fox shook its head cutely before scampering down the corridor, whiskers bristling. Before long, it came upon a second door. It looked up, eyes squinting as it looked upwards at the almost identical nameplate that was bolted to the door. This time it had another number- '1'.

Pressing its snout to the door, the Kyuubi tried to push it open.

It refused to move.

After trying this for a couple of minutes, the Kyuubi, all powerful avatar of destruction, sat down on its haunches and panted in exhaustion while pondering its dilemma. Peering upwards, it spied a handle that lay approximately halfway up the door.

Much too high for it to reach.

_Feh, _thought the Kyuubi finally, _might as well._

Like before, its body began to once again twist and stretch, sections of chakra rippling and expanding. Soon, the fox was no longer in sight. Instead, there was now a naked woman lying splayed on the floor.

'Auuu…' moaned the woman softly, as she rubbed a sore spot on her forehead- corresponding with what had collided heavily with the floor.

Gathering her wits, she clambered up off the ground, none too gracefully, and leaned against the wall- trying to regain her bearings. Upon closer inspection, anyone would conclude that this woman was a beauty rarely seen anywhere in the Elemental Nations, with luxurious waist-long hair and a figure that could make the most chaste of monks blush.

It is notable that this woman bore great resemblance to both Kushina and Mito Uzumaki, with several of their distinctive genetic characteristics. But there were several traits that did not match up with either of them. For example, while this woman possessed Mito Uzumaki's remarkable pupil-less eyes, they were a brilliant shade of emerald green, with strange red flecks embedded in them. In contrast, Mito had hazel eyes while Kushina herself had turquoise ones. She also had a long streak of burnt orange hair that lay, almost indistinguishable, within the cascade of deep crimson locks that were almost trademarked by the Uzumaki clan.

But there were also features that did not rightfully belong on any human. These did not detract from the woman's beauty, but instead lent a sensual, exotic air to her. For one, her eyes had a curiously animalistic slant to them- almond shaped orbs that seemed to pierce right into one's very soul. They also sported vertically slitted pupils, much like a cat's, which sat confrontingly against the brilliant backdrop of green and red. Her ears were slightly pointed at the tips, and also flared out a little.

Her nails were slightly longer than a normal person might allow theirs to grow, and they had a slight inward curve to them, like the claws of a cat or dog. In addition to that, her posture was very wide, very forward. There was something primal about the way she stood, a perception not helped by her lack of clothing. It was almost feline in appearance, but also held a sense of raw, coiled power, like a snake. This sinuous grace and power was intoxicating- the insinuated danger only adding to the mystique.

Despite initial impressions about this paragon of beauty, it would come as a shock to many that this same goddess was the same Kyuubi that had singlehandedly taken more lives than even the most virulent of diseases. The very same unstoppable engine of annihilation- the very same devastating disaster.

But for once, it was not causing wanton destruction.

_Tch, _it (maybe '_she' _would be a more appropriate term) thought in irritation as she continued to rub the red spot on her forehead, _this form is so vulnerable. How _do _humans cope with being so weak?_

Reaching over, she gripped the knob of the door in front of her, and wrenched it open.

Darkness confronted her- a void that sat there, unpenetrated by the bright lights of corridor.

_Well, _thought the Kyuubi unhurriedly, _might as well go in. _

* * *

The interior of the room was, surprisingly, almost the same as the one where the Kyuubi had found itself in initially. In other words, the physical manifestation of the seal- the dark cavern.

But this time, the Kyuubi found herself _on the other side _of the strange dark bars. Probably. This thing is, despite her enhanced night-vision, the room was still pitch black, and the only reason why she suspected the bars were in front of her was because there was a darker than normal patch of black in front of her.

Finally, she decided to take a gamble to try and shed some light (literally) on the situation. Her human form, cobbled together from the appearances from her previous hosts (who had all been female, incidentally), could not use chakra efficiently, but there was whole half-tail of chakra invested in her body, so she could afford to sacrifice chakra over efficiency.

So, not bothering to use the handseals that shinobi favoured nowadays, the Kyuubi opened her mouth and expelled a ball of fire that hung, unmoving, in the air, illuminating everything around it in a warm, soothing light.

To her surprise, what lay in front of her was, unmistakeably, herself. Or more correctly, the unconscious true body of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Actually, it was just its massive paws, crossed over one another, yet still as big as the tallest mountains. These lay behind the massive black pillar-like bars that made up the cage, as immobile and forbidding as ever.

The Kyuubi stared impassively at the stark reminder of her imprisonment once more, before turning and heading back out the door. She had seen a couple of other doors down the corridor, and she had no time for feeling sorry about herself. She had felt her chakra reserves refill to maximum (for some reason, she could not obtain more than half a tail of chakra at any time outside the seal), and so she felt no compulsion to stay inside the room.

At the next door, marked with a '2', the Kyuubi once again fearlessly entered, only to stop in surprise as she was once again inside a dark room. Now a little suspicious of the consecutive dark rooms, the Kyuubi summoned another ball of light. She noticed immediately that her chakra refilled at a faster pace than in the previous room. Putting that thought aside, she moved closer to the familiar black bars that she had half expected to appear.

She knew what was going to be expected, but as she peered through the cage and into the depths of her cavernous seal, she saw a couple of interesting features. One, she was now overlooking the real body's nose and snout instead of the paws, and two, the ball of fire that she had summoned earlier still burned, visible on a ledge directly below her.

Inspecting the ledge below, the Kyuubi realised that it was a small indent in the massive cage- a tiny box-like balcony that sat like a blemish on the inside of the enormous seal. While in comparison to the bijuu-sized cage it looked about as big as a matchbox, it was actually rather large for a single 'room'. The Kyuubi stood at the edge of the bars, scrutinising the balcony for any clues to the confusing mindscape, searing all the details of the balcony into her memory.

It looked… just… like… this one.

Suddenly, the Kyuubi looked upwards. The cage was way too immense to be illuminated by the tiny radiance of the two fireballs, and it stretched up overhead, a dark, impenetrable nothingness that was simultaneously inviting and repulsive.

Making a snap decision, the Kyuubi drew in a breath and released an enormous ball of fire skywards, like a reverse meteor. She had stretched the limits of the half-tail of chakra her body had been made up of to summon a fireball of that scale, and she could feel the chakra construct body disintegrating at its extremities.

She had hoped that the increased chakra recovery in this 'room' would save her, but she not unduly worried. Even if it didn't, she would only wake up inside the seal again, none worse for wear.

But luckily, her body managed to scavenge barely enough chakra to survive long enough to outrace the deteriorization process. But she was not even thinking about that. What she _was _thinking about was the sight her eyes had just registered when the fireball had lit up the top of the cage.

_There were seven more 'rooms'._

These were set up directly above the 'room' she was in currently- room '2'.

Mind racing, the Kyuubi began to construct a theory about what these strange rooms in her seal were, and their relationship with her host's mindscape. In particular, it brought back memories about her second host's mindscape.

_If I'm right about these 'rooms', _she thought slowly, _then rooms 1-9 each represent one of my tails. Room 0 was just a buffer gap in the fuuinjutsu array… if I remember correctly, my second host had something similar in her own seal. Well, I guess I'll just go see what's in room 10._

* * *

Standing outside the door marked with a '10', the Kyuubi was, in spite of herself, quite apprehensive. She would never admit it, but the sheer potential in those doors scared her. Her second host had had a peculiar genetic makeup that had stemmed from her parents having two distinctly different kekkei genkai. These traits had mingled in her blood, and with the addition of the Kyuubi's violent youki had resulted in a strange abnormality that occurred naturally in her mind. The Doors.

It was these same doors that the Second Hokage had witnessed as he had inspected the newborn jinchuuriki's seal. The doors that had led him to develop Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows.

The Kyuubi could not remember much, because apart from one instance, her second host did not draw on her power at all. But on that one instance, only a couple of days after her sealing, the Kyuubi had managed to wrest control over the host's body. Unfortunately for her, taking control of a newborn baby with underdeveloped chakra coils did not allow her much freedom at all. What it _did _earn her was a visit from an accomplished master who proceeded to reduce the gap in the seal. But it was interesting to note that when she had asserted control over the host and had become the dominant personality, one of the strange doors had opened, and an infant had been deposited in the seal (luckily, outside the cage).

After that incident, it appeared that the host had been locked away for both the safety of the village (the Kyuubi could not exactly remember which one, but there was something about a spiral?) and for herself. Apparently, the elders had decided that if a jinchuuriki managed to lose control of the bijuu even a couple of days after being sealed, it was too much of a flight risk to be allowed out of the village.

So, trapped in a cave covered in security seals, alone, this period was one that proved to be _very _boring for the Kyuubi. Despite her persistent attempts at forcing open the doors which she now believed to be gate of her confinement, she did not manage to budge them for the rest of her second stint of sealing. Of course, this was made more difficult by the fact that the doors were located _behind _the cage, so she could only try and open them with chakra appendages.

Thinking back on that period of darkness, the Kyuubi struggled to think about the heritage of that particular host. Vaguely, she recalled that the girl's father had been a giant red-haired man who wore a vast amount of spirals on his clothes.

_Spirals, _she thought suddenly, _red hair… and spirals? That sounds familiar… Oh yeah, Mito had a lot of spirals. Her and her clan… Uzumaki? Oh, so that means the second host was an Uzumaki. That answers that question. So what about her mother? I remember she had a pretty sounding surname. Something to do with… waves? Yes, that was it. Nami… Nami… Namikasai? No, that wasn't it. Nami… Namikaze? Yep, I think that sounds about right. She had this lovely golden hair, too. Kind of spiky though, like Kushina's husband. What was his name again? Minato… Na... mi… ka…zi…_

…_What?_

Stunned by this revelation, the Kyuubi absentmindedly twisted the doorknob of room '10', opening it. But as she did so, she unconsciously pumped quite a lot of chakra into the door, which abruptly started to glow a bright red.

Jumping back, the Kyuubi dropped into a fighting stance, chakra flaring out uncontrollably. She tried to ignore the fact that the brightly-lit corridor had suddenly grown dimmer and adopted a red tint, but she was distracted by it just enough to be caught by the chain that snapped around her body.

She cursed her human form's vulnerability once more, and tried to struggle futilely but was soon stopped cold by the presence of a distinctive tri-pronged kunai at her throat.

'Well, well, well. I didn't expect to meet you again so soon, Kyuubi no Kitsune.'

* * *

An enormous thank-you for MisterKuma, my beta-reader. He's too good for me.


	6. Chapter 6

Aaaaaaaaaaaand the protagonist finally makes his appearance!

* * *

The Kyuubi blinked. She couldn't really believe what was in front of her eyes. The man in front of her should be dead. She knew, that once the Shinigami was summoned, the summoner is guaranteed, with no exceptions, to die swiftly after. So why was the Fourth Hokage, a mere mortal, standing right here in front of her? She had definitely felt the results of a Death God Summoning, so why was he still alive?

'Um… shouldn't you be… uh… dead? Husband of Kushina?' she asked in confusion.

The blonde shinobi's eyes were like slates of blue ice, impassive and emotionless.

'Silence,' he murmured with a tone of authority that not even the Kyuubi, who clearly knew the vast difference in power between them did not feel like violating, '_I _will ask the questions here. You should already know that you have no power here- at most, only half a tail's worth. In a avatar crafted from chakra but untrained in its use, you are almost helpless... especially against _me.'_

He suddenly made a fist, and the floor erupted around the Kyuubi, the white tiles coalescing into giant, serpentine tendrils that wrapped around her, burying her up to the neck in white stone.

However, despite the Fourth Hokage's apparent control over the mindscape, the Kyuubi still didn't quail. She knew she could not be killed, and even if the jinchuuriki died, she would still regenerate after several years and probably be better off because of it.

'You are a fool,' she murmured, 'Why you insist on antagonising me I have no idea. For all you know, I can inflict all sorts of nasty punishments onto your son. I have not done anything to incur your disapproval, so why appear now? I don't know why you aren't dead, but you are still human, and are, as such, powerless against the likes of myself. '

Suddenly, the woman felt a stunning blow snap across her face, and she felt herself sink a little further into the hard rock prison. Wincing, she looked up into the furious visage of Kushina Uzumaki.

'You're still playing dumb? Is it because we're human? Do you hold us in such contempt that you think us so _stupid _as to miss what you've done?' she snarled, incensed.

She made to make another swing at the Kyuubi, but her husband quickly stopped her.

'Ha,' mocked the Kyuubi, 'You still haven't fixed that temper yet, Kushina? With that unladylike behaviour, coupled with your gorilla-like strength, it's a wonder how you managed to get a man at all. I guess that blondie _is _as empty-headed as he looks.'

Kushina bristled, ready to unleash a barrage of protest, but once again, Minato's steady arm on her shoulder calmed her down... marginally. Meanwhile, the Fourth Hokage himself was not exactly completely calm. His eyes, usually so cheerful and bright, now blazed with an enraged fire. He twitched his fingers, and the rock trapping the Kyuubi swarmed upwards to cover her mouth as well.

'Didn't I tell you to _shut up?' _snapped Minato angrily, 'I'm going to tell you _exactly _what you've done, and what you are _going_ _to do, _and I don't want to hear any lip, especially from_ you_.'

The Kyuubi merely glared at this, and would have spat at him, if she weren't gagged as such.

Minato moved closer until he was almost nose-to-nose with the Kyuubi.

'In your _all-encompassing wisdom,' _started Minato, sarcastically, 'you forced your youki into a mere human's inner mindscape. This will have unforeseen repercussions, which could potentially ruin the seal, the jinchuuriki or even yourself. Normally, this wouldn't happen, because the seal should prevent it, but I can't believe Jiraiya-sensei or Sandaime-sama haven't closed the seal yet. Unfortunately, now its too late, and the gap will have to stay open. Who knows what will happen if we try and meddle with a seal that has been tampered with demon chakra? But changes have already started to take place. Here inside a special clause in the seal, Kushina and myself can monitor the changes roughly, but cannot get precise readings or interfere with what is happening in any way. I have no idea why there was such a radical change but… '

At this point, he was interrupted as the rock around the Kyuubi's mouth shattered and crumbled to the ground. A ball of blue fire about the size of a pebble burned in existence for a few seconds, before flicking into nothingness.

Minato raised an eyebrow and raised his hand to try and summon more defences, when the Kyuubi quickly spoke.

'I know what has happened,' she said with a sly smile, 'Do you wish for me to tell you?'

Minato looked at her suspiciously.

'What's the catch?' he asked, 'What do _you _get out of this?'

'Well,' smirked the Kyuubi enigmatically, 'in exchange for telling you everything that has affected your precious son, I want you two to stay out of his life from now on. You should be dead anyway- its not that much different. I don't want someone like you, Yondaime, someone complimented by one of the Pantheon, influencing the future of humans.'

'Never,' came the instant reply, not from Minato but from Kushina, 'if we stay out of his life, who knows what you'll do? You could kill him, or turn him into a mass murderer or something. I will not allow my son to be one who brings misery into the world.'

'Ha! As a shinobi, it is only natural that one will bring misery into the world! The two of you have taken enough lives to populate entire villages! …Okay, how about a compromise, then? Demons cannot go back on their word, and I will give mine that I will not attempt to kill your brat. Is that good enough for you? As for his disposition to killing, shouldn't you trust that monkey man in your village? Enma's summoner. He seems like the type to spout the 'love, not war' bullshit.'

'…Allow us to have a few minutes to discuss this, please. Take note that trying to escape is futile, because we have control over both the seal and our son's mindscape, so it will not be long before we throw you back where you belong,' said Minato calmly.

Internally, however, his mind was in tumult. While his mind was screaming out to him that he could not possibly trust the Kyuubi, his heart was screaming to do everything he could do ensure his son's wellbeing. It didn't seem like much of a large sacrifice to make anyway. While the Eight Trigrams Seal managed to preserve a little of his soul, it was way past its limits for it to be used to converse with the host on a regular basis. It had been designed for a one-time use, anyway.

The Kyuubi only nodded, already knowing how they were going to answer ahead of time. So instead of trying to escape, she tried replenishing her chakra again. Despite the apparent ease with which she had shattered the rock gag, even that small application of Fox Fire was a large drain on her reduced chakra levels. Minato's control over the mindscape was the real deal, after all.

_Now, then, _thought the Kyuubi deviously, _what shall I do with my new toy? Eh… Naruto, was it?_

* * *

'Fine,' agreed Minato, 'We will agree to not contact our son during his life… but I will tell you right now, Kyuubi, if you corrupt him, we will hunt you down and find away to destroy you for good, immortal bijuu or not.'

The Kyuubi nodded, ignoring the threat.

'Whatever,' she replied, 'But now that we have an accord, can you let me out? I don't enjoy being caged up like this, you know.'

'Not so fast,' interjected Kushina before Minato could open his mouth, 'I don't feel like letting a naked woman who bears such a striking resemblance to me just cavort around close to my husband. Who knows what you'll do, you filthy vixen.'

'Ah. Don't you trust your husband? But whatever. I don't care. As if I would stoop to choosing a _human _mate. Hmm… mates… such things are below me, anyway. There is nobody that I consider my equal, or worthy enough to accompany me, so you can rest easy on that part. Hmph… no matter, I can tolerate these bindings for a few minutes more.'

She blinked a few times and carefully arranged her thoughts.

'How should I start,' she mused, '…oh yeah. No doubt you two are aware of _that _technique? I know Kushina has used it extensively, but what about you, husband of Kushina? The technique with the mindscape doors? What did you little humans call it? Flying Leaves, Splitting Shadows?'

'That would be Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows, and _yes, _I am familiar with the technique- I've used it before.'

'Well, do you know how it originated? It was due to your predecessor, actually, Kushina. My second host. Now the funny thing is that she had roughly the same genetic makeup as your son. That's right, she had Uzumaki and Namikaze blood. And that's why, she also had, as a result, both of your kekkei genkai.'

'What? What are you talking about? I don't have a kekkei genkai!' yelled Minato in shock.

'Actually,' corrected the Kyuubi, irritated at being interrupted, 'You do. I'm not going to go into details, but basically, the two bloodlines aren't compatible with each other. This poor girl, as a result of her unfortunate heritage developed a number of special quirks. Add in a dash of my youki, and you have some weird shit happening in that particular jinchuuriki's body. As a direct result of those changes, she actually had naturally occurring mindscape doors, among other… peculiarities. It was because both of your kekkei genkai affect the brain in some way, you see. These doors, are what became the basis of your Splitting… Flying… whatever justu.

Well, some white-haired guy with a strange helmet thing saw the doors while doing some maintenance on the seal. My guess is he brought the idea back to… your village and developed it into a justu usable to those without the influence of your respective bloodlines, or my youki. I actually have no idea how he managed to make it battle worthy, as I could never see the point of those doors in my second host's mindscape. I couldn't seem to open them no matter how much chakra I threw at them.

And so, with your kid's situation being almost a mirror image of that girl's, it is no wonder he developed those doors as well. I just don't understand why my cage is behind the first ten. But anyway, his circumstances are further complicated by… your seal. You _did _use a seal to appear here and escape the Shinigami, correct?'

Mianto scrutinised her closely before letting out a terse nod. He obviously did not wish to disclose much information to someone like the Kyuubi.

Speaking of whom, she did not seem to mind, and continued to rush through her explanation, hurrying to keep her end of the deal and get it over and done with as soon as possible.

'Well, it must have created a 'room' of some sort in this child's mindscape. Oh, don't look at me like that, I have lots of experience in human mindscapes… don't ask. Anyway, that room, seems to set a 'precedent', and since this child has just been born, and his world-view has not been influenced, his mindscape seems to have unconsciously and irreversibly converted all his 'potential' into mindscape rooms. It just naturally remodelled itself to better fit the anomaly that spontaneously appeared- your seal room. And I must say, I have never seen so much potential in a single human. Separate personalities are not boxes that can be stored away without limit, you know. But these two similar factors- his natural, genetic doors, as well as your artificial one, seem to have caused a… chain reaction, I guess.

And… uh… I may have made this already confusing situation even worse by accidentally pumping some of my youki into his mindscape. This could have some… unforeseen effects… I'm just saying. Demon chakra does…weird stuff to humans. I already know that he will not receive either of your kekkei genkai… probably. But I'm warning you, even if they have no effect, the combination of seals, time and youki all competing in his head will probably change something in your kid. He's definitely not normal- maybe Shinigami-sama was correct when he said this sealing period is going to be different.'

The two shinobi were silent for a few seconds, before Kushina spoke.

'How do you know all this? How do we know you aren't making all of this up?'

'Eh,' grinned the Kyuubi sheepishly, 'When I first woke up inside the seal, I was actually as clueless as you guys… probably even more so, but I'm not a bijuu for nothing. Reading the flow of chakra and vitality even from behind the seal is easy for me. Not to mention I have had experience with this same situation in my second host. And… like I said, _I know more about human mindscapes than you think.'_

With this, she grinned sinisterly, dark promises shining in the smile.

But Minato was not intimidated; he was more relieved. He had tilted his head in confusion at the last couple of points, but now he collapsed on the ground, letting out a tired smile.

'Thank goodness,' he murmured, 'When all these doors started showing up, and demon chakra started to flood the place, I was really worried for Naruto… but now… he should be fine, right?'

'No idea,' replied the Kyuubi without dropping a beat, 'I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen. But you know what? I think I'll keep an eye on your brat. With all these doors and all that potential, if he learns Spli-Split… gah… _your jutsu_, the results will be interesting… to say the least. As the one who inadvertently spawned its basic form, I guess I should at least take responsibility and make it the most feared technique in this pitiful shinobi world, shouldn't I?'

Kushina laughed abruptly as she slung an arm around the Kyuubi's rock shrouded shoulders, 'Aha ha! I always though you were some giant prick who hated everything, but you're all right, Kyuubi. If you look after our son, I think we'll get along _just _fine.'

'Don't be mistaken,' growled the Kyuubi, 'I'm not doing it for you, I'm doing it for _me_.'

Minato raised his hand in time to stop another argument from breaking out.

'As a token of goodwill, Kyuubi, I will tell you something you probably _didn't _know. As a matter of fact, you have become the de facto entity know as the Gatekeeper in Naruto's mindscape. Having seen Kushina's use of the technique, you no doubt will know all the little nuances of Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows.

Because you were the first distinct personality to emerge into his mindscape, the technique, which as you stated has already been initiated in a crude form, has recognized you as the Gatekeeper. Similarly, the ten jinchuuriki stages (the nine tails and the initial stage) have also been set as the first ten Formes Naruto has access to. You probably saw the ten doors that herald the technique. This may be a blessing in disguise, as he will not have to rely on your _charity _to use his demon powers.

Also, your induction as the Gatekeeper has sparked the customary personality change- no doubt that is the reason why you are conversing with us so rationally. Hmm… actually, that is probably also why you volunteered to look after him- the Gatekeeper's preservation instincts are manifesting. Your unnatural knowledge of what is happening in this mindscape can be attributed to that as well.'

The Kyuubi froze, as her mind raced furiously to try and comprehend this. While it was true that she wasn't feeling like she usually was, she had attributed it to the fact that she had been deprived of the majority of her chakra in the first time in centuries, and also because she was in a human form, with human emotions, which she definitely weren't accustomed to.

_What… have I gotten myself into? _She thought slowly.

'Have fun, and look after our son!' called out Kushina as the mindscape formed a doorway that the couple promptly walked through.

'W-wait!' yelled out the Kyuubi desperately, but it was no use. The door had already closed, and the Kyuubi had been saddled with a responsibility that she neither wanted nor knew how to uphold.

'Shit.'

* * *

The Third Hokage sighed and leant back in his chair. It had been five years since the Kyuubi attack, but the workload was still as heavy as ever. Although the outer walls had already been re-erected, much of the market and civilian residential sectors were still rubble. Work was currently being done to rebuild these destroyed areas, but the unemployment rate was high, and thousands of homeless huddled in surplus shinobi tents all over the village. The Hokage would have to see to it that they were all taken care of, and given proper jobs, but the sheer scale of it was simply massive. The monumental task was not helped by the fact that most of the ninjas, including the entire ANBU force, were out completing missions, trying desperately to rake in enough money quickly to fund the rebuilding of the vital areas of the village.

A ninja's life is busy, and the slightest slip could mean death. Running a ninja village was much the same. In a world where the other hidden villages waited for the slightest opportunity to launch an invasion, the kage or village head needed to keep on their toes, all the time. They had no choice but to juggle several priorities at once, choosing which needs were crucial and which ones could be shunted until later.

As a result of such pressing responsibilities, and with the weight of thousands of civilians relying on him to steer Konoha away from the threat of ninja invasion, Hiruzen could not afford any time to deviate from his duties. He had reduced his daily sleep routine to almost the same as a field ANBU on shifts, and he hadn't left his office in days. He slept on his chair, with his spare robes thrown over him like a blanket, and ordered his secretaries to bring him meals, which were usually little more than field rations- food able to produce the most energy without adding unneeded weight. He hadn't seen his sons in more than a month, and he knew his wife was getting lonely, because after being crippled by a mysterious enemy on the night of the attack, she was unable to visit him on her own. He had heard the wife of one of his sons was pregnant- he reminded himself absentmindedly to pass on his congratulations… later.

Thinking about children, he decided to take a much-needed break and visit Naruto- who must be about five years old or so, by now. While Hiruzen had tried to keep tabs on the child whenever he had time (which was painfully few in this crucial period of time), he knew it was certainly not enough, especially to his own personal standards.

With the animosity held towards the young jinchuuriki by most of the villagers who blamed him subconsciously for the enormous loss they had suffered (whether it be in the form of the lives of precious ones or of pressured property), the Hokage knew that Naruto received precious little positive attention. It was not healthy for a growing boy to have so little support from peers and elders, and to be so bereft of friends his own age, but there was little the Hokage could do about it. He could not very well abandon his duties to Konoha, a village of several thousand dependant citizens, for a single boy, no matter how much the individual meant to him.

The Hokage usually managed to remember Naruto's birthday, and took special care to look after him on public holidays, as those were the days where violence aimed at him was prone to break out, when citizens with unresolved issues and pent-up emotions had time and energy to vent them. But apart from those occasions, the Hokage was usually too caught up in the massive influx of legislation and decision-making that still bombarded him relentlessly to visit the young blond.

Naruto was a strange boy, mused the Hokage thoughtfully. His personality was like neither of his parents'. He had none of his father's direct, focused determination, _or_ any of his mother's exuberant enthusiasm. Instead, he was a quiet boy who didn't say much and instead merely watched. _Just like Itachi, _thought the Hokage fondly as he thought of the young Uchiha who had just passed the chuunin promotional exam at age 10, despite the other children his age still being two years away from graduating from the Academy at the pace of the normal curriculum.

When Hiruzen had taken him for walks around the village on his infrequent visits, Naruto did not ask any questions like Hiruzen expected any normal five-year old to, but instead just observed everything around him, large oceanic eyes constantly flicking around, absorbing the surroundings steadily, without pause.

Hiruzen had tried explained various features around the village and their purposes to him, but Naruto never gave any indication that he was listening, instead opting to continue his silent survey. However, when he had given up and started to just walk in silence next to his mysterious companion, Naruto had tugged inconspicuously on the sleeve of his robe and looked at him with entreating eyes. And so the Hokage resumed his detailed and often digressing explanations (which were more like stories, really).

Despite Naruto's apparent dumbness and shyness, Hiruzen never considered his presence to be a burden and regarded the silence between them as, 'comfortable'. He personally thought that Naruto appreciated his company, and enjoyed their little bonding sessions.

But there was a certain peculiarity the Hokage had noticed about Naruto. Even though he rarely spoke, or interacted at all, the boy was startlingly intelligent for someone of his age. Even shinobi children, who with their early training of both mind and body had super advanced maturity rates, were not on his level. Naruto managed to converse with him with a full adult's vocabulary just before his first birthday, and by his third was fully capable of taking care of himself on a day to day basis, both in terms of home life as well as staying out of trouble in the streets.

Due to the slight ostracism and bullying he received at the orphanage Hiruzen had assigned him to, the Hokage decided, taking into account the boy's unnatural intelligence, to allocate Naruto his own apartment, which the boy gratefully received. The next time Hiruzen visited, it had already been fully furnished with the furniture fund he had given him, and there were even a few primitive alarm and trap systems set in place to warn Naruto of any unwanted visitors. The pantry had been stocked with several months' provisions in advance, and all personal effects (there wasn't many) had been neatly put into useful, yet aesthetically pleasing locations.

One of Hiruzen's fondest memories was on Naruto's fifth birthday. He had handed the boy a set of beginner kunai- a starter set given to many shinobi children, and the boy had _smiled. _Hiruzen had never seen Naruto smile before, and it showed, with the shocked and stupefied expression he wore. Naruto, the very picture of a serious, professional human weapon, had _smiled_, showing a truly happy expression. And behind that angelic, joyous smile, Hiruzen had seen deep into the boy's inner being. He saw pain, he saw sorrow, he saw anger. What he saw saddened him, but also bolstered his respect and admiration for the boy, who constantly struggled against society and adversity, never giving in.

The present hadn't even been that special (shinobi children belonging to a clan usually started basic training at age three), yet Naruto had obviously been truly delighted by such a gift. And deep in his heart, Hiruzen promised to do his best to protect that smile, no matter what got in his way.

* * *

The Third Hokage knocked tentatively at Naruto's door, the worn but sturdy wood creaking under his gnarled fist. There was silence for a few seconds, before the door slowly eased open, the silver glint of a chain restraining its movement. Underneath it, a solemn-looking boy stared up at him under an unruly mop of golden hair.

'Ah,' he murmured softly, 'Hokage-sama. It is a pleasure to see you again. Please, come in.'

He reached above his head and unlatched the chain, allowing the door to swing open. The Hokage smiled and walked in, already admiring the changes that the precocious five-year old had done to the place.

'It's great to see you again, Naruto-kun. I'm sorry I can't come to see as much as I would have liked to, but you know how it is, with the mountains of work I have to get through, ha ha,' grinned Hizuzen bashfully.

Naruto nodded impassively, before walking towards the small kitchenette tucked into the corner of the small two-room apartment.

'It's fine. I understand. There are biscuits in the cupboard, I'll go and get them. I'd also offer you tea, but I don't have any. The best I can do is water. Hot or cold?'

'Oh,' said Hiruzen quickly, 'You don't need to go that far. I already ate before coming here. I don't think I'll be able to stay for very long either, I'm truly very sorry.'

Upon hearing this, Naruto nodded once and led the way back the designated living space where a single threadbare armchair sat next to a tiny table. He offered Hiruzen the chair and took one of the two dining chairs to sit on for himself. Hiruzen, as he waited, grinned as he analysed all the security arrangements that Naruto had installed. They were ingeniously hidden, but were still quite effective. Probably not very effective against seasoned ninjas, but civilians and some genin he knew would probably fall right for it.

He was suddenly interrupted from his musings as a clatter heralded Naruto's return with the chair. Hiruzen gave a guilty start, hastily snapping his gaze to the boy as if he were a child caught with his hand stuck in the honey pot. He knew that it probably wasn't inappropriate to inspect the inside of Naruto's house, but he still couldn't help but feel that it was _wrong, _somehow.

Despite his misgivings, Naruto still stared at him with calm acceptance, silently waiting for him to make the first move. Hiruzen felt distinctly uncomfortable under that gaze, as if he didn't deserve to be under that completely trusting gaze. He coughed to break the silence and pulled out a scroll and laid it on the tiny table. Unrolling it and slipping some chakra into the arcane symbols inked onto its surface, he unsealed several objects.

'Um… I brought you some gifts, hey, Naruto.'

'…'

'What, you thought I just came over to waste your time? Ha, well… anyway, I brought you some instant ramen- that might stretch for a couple of months if you organise it right. Oh yeah, and if you like that, then here's some coupons for this neat ramen stall I know. The people who run it are great. You'll like 'em. I also brought some manga. I dunno what you like to read, so I just bought a bunch of it.'

'…'

Naruto didn't respond verbally, but he did pick up one of the proffered volumes. He flicked through it and merely nodded. He then picked up a pen and scribbled something on the inside cover. After doing this, he abruptly stood up and strode off.

'… Toilet,' came the almost inaudible explanation.

Hiruzen nodded in understanding. As he waited, he reached over and picked up the manga that Naruto had written in. He had probably just labelled it with his name, but Hiruzen was still curious and wanted to confirm his suspicions. But as he looked at it, his brow knitted in confusion. It was not Naruto's name, or any sort of writing. There, drawn very hastily, was a complete, very accurate replica of the transport seals that Hiruzen had just used to carry Naruto's gifts in.

_The hell? _thought Hiruzen in a daze. Being an accomplished seal master in his own right, he knew there was nothing wrong with the seal in front of him- it could have passed for any proficient sealer's work.

He looked at it for a few seconds more before merely sighing and throwing the manga back where it was originally. It was probably just Ryuuketsu no Senmonka manifesting, he told himself. He had expected this to happen, but he never thought it was _this _advanced. Space distorting seals were rather basic, but to get on that level, a sealer had to have at least five years experience under a qualified tutor. _Uzumakis really were another breed altogether, _he thought ruefully.

Turning around, Hiruzen smiled cheerfully as he heard the approaching footsteps of his host.

'So, Naruto,' he remarked once he had been seated, 'I hope you haven't been lonely. I really _should _have made more time to come and see you.'

The boy looked at him with impassive, uncaring eyes, and merely waved his hand in a dismissive gesture.

'I said, _it's fine,_' he replied with a voice that was soft and rough with disuse, 'Hatake-san comes to visit occasionally, and sometimes he brings his jounin or ANBU associates for me to meet.'

'Ah, Kakashi-kun did that?' asked Hiruzen in surprise.

He had never imagined the cold, aloof jounin who preferred not to interact with his colleagues if possible would be capable of such action on his own initiative. _Well, _he though as a thought struck him, _Kakashi _is _Minato's student, so its only natural that he would look after his sensei's son. Wait…_

'Um, Naruto? Does Kakashi know who your father is?'

Naruto blinked slowly. Hiruzen knew that Naruto definitely should _not _know that Minato was his father. Out of everyone in Konoha, he knew that only Jiraiya, Minato's own teacher, and himself knew _that _particular secret. He had a suspicion that a couple of the Clan Heads had inklings to Naruto's heritage but had no confirmed facts. So there was _no _way possible that this little five-year old, isolated from society at large, would have _any _idea who the hell his father was. But then again… if it were _this _child… and his freakish intelligence…

'Hmm…' said Naruto slowly, 'I don't think he does. To put it in perspective, I'm 85% sure that Hatake-san either thinks that Kushina Uzumaki never had a child, or it died in the attack. That being said, with that out of the picture, I do not know what his motive is for being friendly with me. It's strange. Hatake-san does not seem like the person who would be nice to orphans out of principle.'

Hiruzen was about to confirm this, when Naruto stood up again. This time he did not give an explanation, but Hiruzen could easily figure out that he needed to go to the toilet again.

_Ha, _he thought, _youngsters. He probably ate too much curry last night and now he's feeling the effects of it. It's nice to know even that machine-like genius is capable of making mistakes._

He sat back in his chair, feeling pleased with himself about this conclusion, when he saw something on the chair that Naruto had sat on. Reaching out, he picked it up and held it up to the light in order to inspect it. It was a contact lens. Strangely, it was opaque. Hiruzen was stumped for a second before realising that it was a chakra lens and the opacity and prescription could be changed though chakra manipulation. But the question was: why did Naruto wear contacts? Where did he even get them in the first place?

While Hiruzen pondered these thoughts, his attention was grabbed by something lying on the floor. It was lying slightly out of the way, as if it had been dropped and had rolled a little while. He picked this up as well and look at it. It was a balled up tissue. But that wasn't the only issue. It was also covered in blood. And this wasn't the crimson blossom of a nosebleed, either. This was the bloody splatter of blood and phlegm that had come from the throat.

Hiruzen frowned. Being a veteran shinobi, he was well acquainted with blood. And he knew this was, without a doubt, fresh blood. It wasn't even fifteen minutes old.

_Naruto, _he thought worriedly, _what is happening to you?_

* * *

__Thanks to the super awesome MisterKuma who took the time to beta-read this even when he had to go camping this week.


	7. Chapter 7

Naruto stared into the bathroom mirror, an overwhelming desire to slam his fist into the fragile glass welling up from deep inside him.

_No, _he thought weakly, _I need to restrain my emotions. Smashing my own property is not beneficial to me and is actually counterproductive. I don't have the money to replace it, and I need to have… discipline. _

Naruto slowly forced his fist to unclench. He had been standing in the tiny bathroom for a while- thankfully; his visitor had left his apartment about half an hour prior, hopefully without suspecting anything.

He raised his hand, slowly, hesitantly, dully noting that it was shaking and trembling without pause, a constant shuddering tremor that persisted like a runaway train. Finally managing to get his hand up to his face, he gripped the left side of his face with one hand and extended his right index finger slowly. Delicately, he removed the small, transparent contact lens that covered the eyeball. While most prescription contacts only covered the iris and pupil, chakra lenses such as this one covered the entire eyeball. This was to protect the whole eye from harmful light or dust that came from shinobi conflicts.

Naruto plopped the lens into a small container of liquid and squeezed his eye shut. Even if the lens _was _essential for his deception of the wily Hokage, it still irritated his eye. The fact that he had been focusing chakra constantly to the lens in order to change the colour was particular painful, as Naruto had inadequate control over his huge reserves of chakra.

He looked back up to the mirror; two bloodshot cerulean eyes staring balefully back at him. Suddenly, his pupils dilated and contracted in quick succession, and Naruto winced as a burning light seared his retinas before everything went pitch-black without warning, leaving Naruto to stumble around blindly.

He cursed as he bumped into the side of the bathtub and collapsed over the edge. He reached out with his hand to steady himself, but the twitching appendage was no help as it shook uncontrollably.

'Fuck,' Naruto swore out loud as he came to a rest, tangled up in his own bathtub.

He angrily asserted control over his jerking arms and with an effort, forced them over his face. His eyes were now clenched shut, as he knew if he tried to open them too quickly, the burning light and crippling darkness would be back in short order.

Instead, he slowly opened them, a millimeter at a time, his palms still blocking most of the light from blasting through. Then, he progressively raised his hands until his eyes were more or less accustomed to the light.

He clambered up out of the bathtub and then leant against the wall, resting his forehead against the cool glass of the shower door. He had a throbbing migraine, and even the soothing chill of the glass did not help alleviate it.

He sighed, and then, as if to add insult to injury, an unrestrainable itch emerged at the base of his throat. A globule of blood and phlegm burst from his mouth and splattered onto the shower door, a gruesome testimony to how he felt.

Resignedly, he stretched over and grabbed a tissue to clean up the mess, internally glad that at least his arms were following his orders at the moment.

_Kyuubi, _he thought, _what have you done to me?_

* * *

Elsewhere, a certain red-haired woman sneezed as she lay on her back on top of the slight slope of a hill. She rubbed her nose in discontent and then pulled a wide-brimmed hat over her eyes. A picnic basket lay abandoned on a blanket nearby, the remains of a meal still sitting there. She sighed in pleasure as the sun gently enveloped her in its warm embrace.

She made a slight motion with her fingers and a large, towering oak tree burst from the ground behind her, large gnarled branches extending outwards like the blossoming of a flower in fast motion. It provided sufficient shade so that although the sun was not directly beating down the woman underneath its branches, there was still a comfortably warm temperature.

This done, the woman smiled softly and relaxed, all tension leaving her body. She lay like this for about thirty seconds before she sat up violently.

Although before, her face had been the very picture of content and comfort, the beauty now wore a distinctly disgruntled expression. She stood up, the thunderous visage still in place, and ripped off her hat, throwing it to the ground violently.

Behind her, the magnificent oak tree shivered before shriveling up to a mere husk, its verdant leaves turning to dust in seconds. The bright sun abruptly turned red, bathing the entire landscape in a dark, sinister light. The lush grass that carpeted the ground dried up instantly, turning the area into a desolate plain.

Clouds started to congregate in the once clear sky, thunder crackling ominously. Shadows lengthened and wavered without a light source, and a chill wind began to blow.

'Goddamn it,' snarled the Kyuubi, 'That fucking brat ruins everything.'

It was not hard to see the object of her ire. Represented in the sky above her head, an extremely detailed portrayal of Naruto could be seen, still bent over on the floor of his bathroom. Despite the dark clouds that crowded the sky, the image was not disrupted in the least, still elaborately constructed in lifelike colours and lines.

Even as she watched, Naruto coughed into his hand, his other one clutching his forehead. Kyuubi's eye twitched as she watched this. Her heart seemed to galloping at a hundred kilometers per hour, and her fingers were moving restlessly, as if they itched to do something for the suffering boy in front of her.

'Fuck,' she hissed, turning away from the image to kick at a stone that had suddenly appeared there.

However, this gave her no reprieve as a small-scale three-dimensional model of Naruto rose out of the earth, crafted from loose soil, still in intricate detail. This time, she resisted the urge to destroy it utterly, knowing that these images and facsimiles would just appear, again and again.

She simply despised these reminders of her 'charge', and the corresponding stirrings of guilt and responsibility and persistently bothered her. They nagged her like someone tugging on the corner of a cloth, tolerable at first, but soon growing to be an incessant chorus that constantly tested her patience.

She supposed this was the inherent qualities that came with being a Gatekeeper, only diluted to a degree by her sheer power. She had already discovered that retreating back into the seal meant a respite from the constant deluge of unfamiliar emotion, as well as the disturbing images of Naruto that kept cropping up. Unfortunately, after experiencing Naruto's mindscape, and managing to learn how to manipulate it to her will, she could only stand a couple of hours inside the lightless, featureless hell that was the interior of the seal before almost involuntarily returning to the mindscape.

Back to the mindscape, with the annoyingly _human _feelings that plagued her, urging her to help the boy who suffered in front of her, yet was unaware of her presence.

She actually _would _have helped him, if only to rid herself of these strange, unwelcome, feelings, she told herself, but the problem was… _she didn't know how. _

* * *

Naruto hissed as he struggled to complete another lap of the large clearing. His lungs felt like they were on fire, and his leg muscles felt like they were wrapped in electrified wire. This was only his second lap of the clearing, and he could already feel the pain racking his body, spasms threatening to burst past his carefully applied discipline.

_Damnit! _He screamed mentally, _why does my body reject me like this? I know it is Kyuubi's doing, but I haven't even managed to contact it yet, let alone ask it to stop… whatever it's doing._

The ever-present migraine thundered around inside his skull, and Naruto could already feel his limbs threaten to spiral out of control. But despite the relentless onslaught that his body beleaguered him with, he persevered, determined to finish at least one more lap.

Knowing that building up stamina and speed early was a good thing, which was why he now dragged himself out of bed everyday at 5:00am. The minimum age for entering the Academy was eight, except for 'special cases'. Without anything much to occupy his time, Naruto found himself spending most of his days at one of Konoha's multitude of empty training grounds. He would have _liked _to think that he was making a difference, but the reality was… his body was piss-weak.

He focused on putting one foot in front of the other, again and again, drowning out all distractions. Naruto filtered out the pain, letting it become merely another ache that resounded dully through his body, washing through and then exiting. His bloodshot eyes glazed over, ignoring the blood that splattered over his chin in time with laboured breaths, ignoring the trembling calves and ankles, ignoring the vicious pounding that beat steadily inside his head.

The only thing his fading vision saw was the irregularly shaped rock that marked the finish line, only a few paces ahead. Not even the screaming refusal of his muscles to move any longer could stop him from reaching his goal. He pushed forward maniacally, forcing his aching tendons to carry him forward, forward, forward.

_There's no way I'm going to let my body get in the way! I'm going to get strong, and protect my precious people! Even if my body breaks down, I will still fight! I need to be strong enough, even with _this _body, so that all my enemies will fall before me!_

With a cry of sheer will and rage, Naruto threw himself forward, hearing a strange _rip _sound coming from his leg, but somehow not caring in the least. His mind, usually so clear and boundless, seemed strangely fixated on making it to the rock, even if he had to crawl to it. Even as a small part of his analytical, rational mind started to think that he had done something recklessly stupid and injured his already fragile body, Naruto was already about to hit the ground from his desperate leap.

Straight towards that weirdly shaped rock.

_Well, fuck, _thought Naruto blankly, his mind already deducing that he could not avoid it, especially with his sub-par, rebellious body. _Just my luck. Well… at least I made the distance._

* * *

When Naruto opened his eyes once more, the first thing he saw was a beautiful red-haired woman staring down at him with an unreadable expression on her face.

In the few seconds that he had opened his eyes, Naruto had already processed half a dozen viable options that he could currently take. He didn't know why he possessed such an intelligent brain, but honestly, he couldn't be more grateful for it at this moment.

One of the first things his genius mind had registered was the way this strange woman was standing. Her stance was one of a seasoned shinobi- a ruthless killer, so confident in her skill that she looked unprepared to those untrained in the art of death. He could tell that this woman had sensed precisely _when _he had regained consciousness and opened his eyes, and feigning sleep was not a wise course of action.

Furthermore, he knew that she was too far out of his league to even _think _about trying to fight… especially with his pathetic combat skill and mutinous body. He probably couldn't win against a fresh academy student, even if he _did _possess an analytical mind that defied all rational explanations that he could think of.

Naruto had also taken into account his surroundings in those few vital seconds- he was lying on a plain white floor, devoid of any sort of decoration or distinguishing features, and was currently in a room bordered by walls in the same vein as the floor- expressionless white planes.

The door was currently behind the woman, and was closed. With an internal sigh of resignation, Naruto gave up the notion of trying to escape. For one thing, his body, although currently not in any sort of pain, which was a first, was still pitifully inadequate when compared to the momentous task of successfully evading the grasp of a seasoned ninja.

So, with apprehension that did not make it past the stone-like façade that he wore at all times, Naruto reluctantly decided to go with the final course of action. He sat up, still without an expression, and looked at the woman in front of him in the eyes.

'Who are you?' he asked bluntly.

The woman looked a little surprised before responding in a surprisingly gentle fashion.

'You don't know? Ha ha… guess.'

'No, I'd prefer not to. Your identity, please.'

The woman looked stunned at Naruto's brusque and uncompromising answer. Her eyes seemed to make a subtle change before her left hand shot out, quick as a bullet.

Naruto's eyes widened, and even as his brain registered and reacted at light-speed, his body simply could not keep up at all, seemingly frozen in shock. The woman's delicate hand was stretched out next to his cheek, one of the fine nails resting on his ear.

_Tch, _Naruto thought in a half annoyed, half frightened way, _I couldn't even react to that at all. The gap between us is even more than I first estimated. And it was a conservative guess too. _

But he was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of crumbling rock behind him. Turning slowly, to the opposite side of where the woman's hand was, he saw, with a belated sense of horror, that the wall directly in line with the woman's pale hand had a gaping hole gouged into it, large cracks splitting off the crater like the spreading branches of some great tree.

Turning back towards the woman, he saw that she was wearing a sweet smile, but at the same time exuded a killing intent that seemed like the aura of a demon.

'I don't think that's the correct way to talk to your mother, Naruto-kun,' she chirped brightly.

Naruto immediately recoiled, chaotic emotions clashing inside him despite his attempts to smother them.

'Kushina… Uzumaki…' he murmured slowly, as if testing the words out on his tongue.

'Oh, that's right. You _do _know who me and your dad are. I forgot how bright that little noggin is!'

With this proclamation, she darted around to catch Naruto in a playful headlock with speed that he couldn't see, let alone react to, giving his bright golden hair a thorough ruffling.

Although Naruto's first inclination was to squirm out of this person's (_his mother's, _he reminded himself) arms, his mind was already telling him how easy it was for this person to kill him while he was in this vulnerable position, if she was so inclined. And so, Naruto decided it would be prudent to stay still and not struggle, as it posed the most chance of him surviving.

He still wasn't sure if this woman was who she claimed she was. In fact, it was extremely unlikely, because the Hokage had told him his mother had died, and Naruto trusted the old man unconditionally, even if his mind _did _tell him that it was unwise.

Feeling the boy go limp in her arms, 'Kushina' continued to thread her fingers through her son's spiky mop for a few minutes, before abruptly sitting down, putting Naruto in her lap. Although said boy was obviously uncomfortable in such a position, with his unprotected back to her, he said nothing and merely sat quietly, gathering his thoughts.

Eventually, he could bear the silence no longer and voiced a question.

'Say, 'mother', Hokage-sama said you were dead. In that case, why do you claim to be in front of me? Are you contradicting the word of the Hokage?'

'Man,' she replied, 'the old monkey said that? Jeez… he should know better. I will always live on… in your heart!'

Naruto didn't need to turn around to know that the woman who claimed to be his mother had struck some ridiculous pose. He gave a silent sigh.

'… Please be serious.'

'But I _am _serious!'

'…'

'Alright, alright. Man, you're just like one of those old farts on the council, always so uptight and hung up on protocol. Tch. I always hated those fogies. _A foreigner like you has no right to marry one of our most foremost jounins! How impuden-_'

'Please get to the point.'

'Feh… you _are _no fun. Okay, okay. Have you noticed that you are no longer in pain?'

Naruto tilted his head in slight confusion- this could be considered the most emotion he had shown today.

'Yeah, somehow it's not hurting… oh, I see.'

'You do?'

'Yeah. I'm **dead, **aren't I?'

Kushina recoiled in shock.

'What?'

'That must be the rational explanation. In my foolish, and in retrospect unaccountable, desire to finish off three laps of the training field, I split open my skull on that rock. That must be why I've met you- you're dead, and I'm dead, so this must be the afterlife, no?'

'EHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?! EEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHH?!'

'What? Am I mistaken?'

'How can you talk about your death with such ease? You're not dead. Alright? Accept it. You're still alive.'

Naruto blinked before giving a long, slow smile.

'Then you,' he said, 'cannot be Kushina Uzumaki. She's dead.'

But to his surprise, instead of denying this or panicking, the woman in front of him merely replied with a sad smile of her own, one that resonated with melancholy and regret.

'Yes,' murmured the woman, 'she is.'

There was silence for a few minutes, before Naruto spoke up.

'… So who _are _you?'

'I'm Kushina Uzumaki! Nice to meet you!'

'… I give up.'

'Hey, hey, hey! Why are you tearing up your clothes?'

'To hang myself and get away from this nonsensical situation, of course.'

'I'llbeserious! Pleasedon'tkillyourself! Minatowillskinmealiveohshitd on'tkillyourselfdon'tkillyourself…STTOOOOPP!'

The woman grabbed his hands desperately; sweat breaking out on her forehead. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

'So… will you answer my questions?'

'Yep!'

'Alright, first question… who are you, truthfully?'

'Like I said, I am the one and only Kushina Uzumaki… your mother!'

'… Fine. Are you dead?'

'Yep!'

'But I'm not?'

'Yeah.'

'How does that work?'

'Well, you were half right when you said you split your skull open on a rock- you did whack yourself pretty hard on it, but it was only enough to send you unconscious. You might have a nice scar, but the Kyuubi'll probably fix you up real nice… oh shit!'

Kushina quickly covered her mouth with both hands, looking mortified. Naruto turned to look at her.

'If you're worried about letting that secret out, you needn't bother. I've known about it for almost three years now. I discovered it when I was two.'

'Oh. Well, then that's okay. So… yeah. Right now we're in a special place called your mindscape!'

'That's sounds terribly interesting. I'm _dying _to know more. However, it doesn't answer my question.'

'Mou… okay, I'll skip the boring explanations- truth be told, I'm kinda confused about it myself. Minato has a better grasp on the concept, but he's not here at the moment. Well anyway, Minato and I established 'rooms' in your mindscape though a special seal, so we could interfere if the Kyuubi ever tried to take over your body or kill you. Normally, some people manage to reach their mindscape while dreaming or while meditating, so when you lost consciousness so suddenly, it seems like you ended up in my 'room'.'

'Ah. Okay.'

Kushina seemed a bit disappointed with this reaction.

'Aren't you going to be a _little _happy that you've met your mother?' she asked plaintively.

'Shinobi must not show their emotions at all times. Furthermore, creating intimate relationships and connection with others is unwise, as it may provide enemies with an opportunity to exploit these bonds to get through to you. Weaknesses of any sort must be abolished. Emotions are an unnecessary burden.'

'Young man, that kind of thinking will not be tolerated in my family,' said Kushina authoritatively, 'tch, so this is what the Kyuubi meant by "side-effects".'

'You… do you know why my body is in such pain?' asked Naruto, the barest hint of hope shining through his voice.

Kushina gave a pained grimace, before reluctantly replying.

'I _do _know _why _you're in pain, but I'm afraid I can't do anything about it. There _has _been a precedent according to the Kyu- according to an expert, but no one managed to find a cure.'

'Please tell me.'

'Um… okay. Well, I'm no expert, but apparently your father has a kekkei genkai. Do you know what a kek-'

'I know. Please get to the part that matters, please.'

'Jeez. Like I said, no fun at all. Well. Your father's kekkei genkai, (which neither of us knew of before the Kyuubi told us), basically heightens brain activity for a short amount of time. And this isn't just thinking faster for a bit- no. I'm talking about the full-on Genius Mode. Like getting on high off soldier pills and just coasting off a genjutsu. I'm talking the big daddy of epiphanies. I'm saying it's like-'

'Your point, please?'

Kushina pouted.

'Well, the Uzumaki clan have a kekkei genkai as well. Ryuuketsu no Senmonka. You know of our sealing abilities?'

'Yes. It was quite hard to dig up, as none of the books I read contained much information about it, but Hokage-sama was much easier to crack. He let something slip inadvertently while he was describing you and my father to me.'

'Ha ha! The old monkey's losing his touch! But yeah, our kekkei genkai basically hardwires our brain to naturally understand the art of fuuinjutsu. It also gives us superhuman vitality and purity of chakra, but _that_ is almost a secondary skill, because we cannot learn taijutsu.'

'We can't?'

'Um. Technically, we can't learn genjutsu, ninjutsu or kenjutsu either, but that doesn't apply to you. Obviously, if Ryuuketsu no Senmonka had manifested in you, then you wouldn't have been so pitiful in trying to complete a measly _three_ laps of the training ground! Three! When I was your age I could have easily done _twenty! _But that's beside the point.

Which is that because both of our kekkei genkai are based off altering the mind and spirit, it sort of 'clashed'. Your cells tried to replicate both kekkei genkai, and got stuck between trying to create the possibility of using Minato's 'Divine State', and creating the Uzumaki's sealing prowess. This situation got worse because the Kyuubi stupidly- _accidentally, _it said, pumped some youki directly into your mind.

Your inhuman intellect is caused by your mind being perpetually in a diluted version of the Divine State. But there is a reason why your father's kekkei genkai only allowed it to be used for a limited amount of times.

There's basically a massive amount of stress placed on your body, because your cells can't function as they normally do. There's also lots of corrosive demon chakra coursing through your body at the moment. Your chakra is in turmoil, but what's really pressing is the stress on your _mind._'

Naruto was spellbound by the analysis of his situation. His mind was eagerly devouring the facts, cross-referencing it with everything he already knew, and even speculating about possible consequences.

'My mind?' he asked tentatively.

'Yeah. That's where all the conflict started, remember? The two kekkei genkai, and the Kyuubi's youki all congregate there. Well, _here_, actually. But you've had these headaches, right?'

Naruto nodded wordlessly.

'Those are pretty serious. You've probably had them from the day you were born. But the damage is spreading. Your chakra is half derived from your mental or spiritual energy, and because of this, the chakra, which makes up a significant part of each cell, is in turmoil. You can't control your limbs much, anymore- the cells are rebelling, but also, your mind is starting to involuntarily give contradictory orders. And even your organs are beginning to break down. You've been coughing up blood, regularly, right? Even your eyes- your senses are beginning to fluctuate. You cannot rely on them anymore.

But again, this is all because of the massive influx of pressure on your delicate mind. You've been unable to sleep because of the pain from your head- it will only get worse. The only one who had this condition before you- she died because she hemorrhaged heavily from her brain. She couldn't handle the stress any more.'

Kushina said all this in a grave tone of voice, her normally dancing turquoise eyes deadly serious.

Naruto, in response to this atmosphere, could only sit there, stunned.

'Is… is there anything I can do?' he asked finally, in a trembling voice.

'Well, I'm going to help you along a bit,' answered Kushina, mustering up a weak smile, 'but it's not going to help your overall condition any more. Your predecessor only lasted ten years before her brain exploded, so you have about five years left. Don't worry, we believe in you! You'll find a cure, because you're the son of the greatest genius Konohagakure has ever produced!'

She flashed a thumbs up, which simultaneously cheered up and irritated Naruto, although he never showed it.

'Whatever. How are you going to help me?'

'Well, you probably didn't know this, but I was the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi before you, and I have a limited degree of control over its chakra. I also reside in your mind, so I can influence a little there, but not much. I have no idea how to reverse your condition, and trying to do _anything _about it could potentially kill you.

But what I _can_ do istry and give you back some measure of your kekkei genkai back by reducing the clashing effect caused by the Kyuubi's chakra. Your stamina is pathetic, even compared to a normal civilian, so the vitality aspect of my kekkei genkai would probably be best. However, I doubt you will _ever _obtain the Uzumaki sealing skills.

And be warned, the effects of the deterioration of your body will still continue, so you need to find a cure, and quickly.'

Naruto nodded, his mind spinning. All of a sudden, all the pain he had suffered, all the misery he had endured, all seemed so much more sinister- omens to his impending death.

'Okay… mmm… I'd love to talk to you more, but it's probably time for you to wake up now.'

Naruto grimaced, caught between conflicting emotions. On one hand, he didn't want to create a 'bond' with this woman, his mother, but on the other hand, he felt, deep down, a desire to get to know and be loved by this cheerful, mostly carefree soul.

'Will I see you again?' he managed to ask, tentatively, but without emotion.

Kushina smiled, and mouthed a 'maybe' at him.

In return, he nodded curtly, even as white began to envelop his vision.

_Well, I sure learnt a lot today. Hopefully mum- I mean _Kushina-san_, keeps her promise and does something about my stamina. I'm tired of running two laps around that goddamn training field and collapsing. _

_Every goddamn time._

But despite the dour tone his thoughts had taken, he couldn't stop a large, sunny smile from breaking out.

* * *

A pair of cerulean eyes opened slowly, the red-stained sclera existing in stark contrast to the clear blue irises. Upon seeing only darkness, they eased closed again. The boy who owned them, feeling grass tickling his cheek, concluded that he was lying face down on the ground.

Although he didn't make a sound, inwardly, Naruto was groaning. _Ach… this pain- the time I spent away from it was way too short. Maybe all that stuff that happened with mothe- I mean, _Kushina-san, _was all a dream. I don't _feel _any different. Maybe I should stand up though. I have no idea what happened- I don't even know how much time has passed since I hit my heat on that rock. Hopefully I didn't get kidnapped, or attacked by of those idiotic civilians._

Naruto twisted his neck, and sat up, letting out an involuntary grunt as his spine creaked. Having spent an unspecified amount of time unconscious on his face, his body had set in very uncomfortable positions.

He looked up to the sky to try and deduce what time of day it was, but then abruptly recoiled. Although he was familiar with the way his eyes reacted harshly to any sudden changes to light, somehow this reaction had suddenly become stronger. Naruto hadn't managed to see anything, only blinding white- an unstoppable blaze of light that seared through his optic fibres and straight into his brain.

He had shut his eyes, but he doubted it would make any difference- said organs usually blocked _all _light from getting through after such an incident. It was annoying, painful, and, his genius brain told him, probably going to be fatal when he started to do field missions.

_Damn, I need to find that 'cure' as soon as possible. But I wonder why this reaction was so much more powerful?_

As usual his brain soon supplied the answer.

'_It gives us superhuman vitality…'_

Kushina's cheerful voice surfaced from his memories and Naruto's face twitched.

_So THAT'S why. It looks like whatever she was doing was successful. I mean, my eyesight seems to have improved. Seems more like a disadvantage than an advantage, though. I sincerely hope that this Ryuuketsu no Senmonka applies to more than my eyes, or I'm going to have to knock myself out until I get back to her and force her to change me back. I'm beginning to think the Kyuubi is more helpful than my 'mother'._

He edged his eyelids up a millimeter at a time, painstakingly stopping every couple of seconds so his eyes would have time to adjust. When he had finally gotten them open he blinked in confusion.

No time seemed to have passed since he had started his training in the morning- the sun was still in the same position, and the absence of dew on his clothes ruled out the possibility he had been unconscious overnight.

Reaching up to scratch his head, Naruto felt a strange liquid on his forehead. He brushed a finger against it and inspected it. Although his arm was shaking like mad again, it was still undoubtedly blood.

_Shit, _thought Naruto, _this is bad. Head wounds are the most dangerous out of all injuries. My unnatural intelligence is my most potent weapon… after the Kyuubi, of course. I can't risk it being damaged!_

He grabbed (with difficulty) the water bottle sitting on the ground next to the rock (you must always be hydrated when exercising!). Although his hands rebelliously refused to open the lid, Naruto eventually managed to get it off, and tried to rinse off his forehead.

Much of the water splatted uselessly onto the ground, but he did manage to get half the bottle onto his head. Delicately, he probed the formerly blood-matted area with his finger, but to his surprise, he could not feel any pain or injury.

The amount of blood that had been on his forehead, and the matching discolouration on the 'finishing' rock seemed to tell the story in an obvious manner, but Naruto could not find the cause of the blood that logically should be there.

Finally, he just chalked it up to a combination of the Uzumaki's increased vitality as well as the Kyuubi healing him, a concept Kushina seemed to have touched on briefly during their talk.

So he put it out of his mind and instead started to wonder what the extent of his new abilities were.

He decided to try and rerun the laps that he had failed to do earlier, but before he could get started, he felt the disquietingly familiar feeling in his chest of needing to cough. He sighed in aggravation and raised his hand to cover his mouth.

Unfortunately, Naruto misjudged his strength, something that rarely happened, even with the variable control that he had over his unruly limbs he had to deal with _every single day_… and smashed himself in the nose. He grunted and tried to windmill his arms to keep his balance. Unfortunately, just as- in a rare instance- his arms were following his orders, his cough started to manifest, blood flying out like rain as his throat made disturbing train wreck noises.

He tumbled backwards, but managed to get an arm to break his fall.

But the gods seemed to find amusement in torturing him, because _now, _just as it was about to support him,was the time that it chose to start shaking uncontrollably. He collapsed on the ground, facing the cloudless sky.

'…Heh heh heh. Heh heh HAHAHAHAHA!' he started to laugh maniacally.

He raised his fist, noting that it broke straight through a stout branch above his head, and clenched it.

His bloodshot eyes crinkled in glee and his mouth curved upwards.

'The gods seem to be playing a humongous practical joke on me. 'Give me increased vitality'! It sounds good, but I seem to have lost all control of my goddamn strength. Hurts a lot more now, too,' he said to himself softly, 'but… the joke's on you. Even if I can't control my body, even if my senses are out of wrack, even if I can't go ten minutes without coughing up blood, even if my brain will explode in five years, it doesn't matter. It doesn't fucking matter! Because I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I will _**always**_ find a way past it. Bring it on, you shitty gods! You'll see that tangling with Naruto Uzumaki was the wrong path to take!'

* * *

Sorry for the delay, hey. It's been the school holidays, and I've been busy playing League of Legends... all day. Seriously, it's addicting

But thanks again to MisterKuma, who doesn't help the situation by playing alongside me. He's better than me by... let's say... 'a lot'. But I'll get him one day.


	8. Chapter 8

Okay... as you read this you might notice that I screwed with the ages a little bit. That is intentional. This story is AU. Also, I can't be bothered looking up the canon ages... soz~. I do my best to explain it away... but... whatever. Lol. Read, enjoy, hate, review, whatever.

* * *

Naruto smiled as he lay on his back, looking up at the stars. The night sky, resplendent with glimmering stars, spread out overhead like a comforting blanket, its familiar landscape welcoming to the blond boy.

He carelessly slid a hand through sweat-drenched golden locks, secretly taking pleasure through this simple action.

It had been almost three whole weeks since he had that fateful encounter with his mother, and he had finally managed to exert _some _measure of control over his newfound strength. Before, attempting to adjust his hair might have resulted in a bloody nose or even the loss of a few clumps.

_It's really getting long. I'll need to cut it, _he thought idly.

He had to resort to cutting it himself because he had yet to find a hairdresser willing to cut his hair for him that didn't expect ludicrously overpriced payments in return. Luckily, his hair seemed to be naturally wild, so no matter how badly he slashed at it, it always looked the same. Of course, recently he had to refrain from doing so due to his dangerously unreliable control. If he had tried, he was probably inclined to scalp himself.

But now, after weeks of relentless training, he was now on the level he had been before he had regained a little of Ryuuketsu no Senmonka. That is to say, although he could go through most of the motions of his daily life without trouble, he _did, _on occasion, still have some difficulty keeping his limbs from shaking. However, the ever-present migraine was still a constant hindrance, and his sporadic but violent coughs still remained a reminder that his time to find a cure was running out.

But his situation wasn't _all _doom and gloom. As Kushina had promised, the benefits of the Uzumaki bloodline were starting to shine through. The increased stamina was the most prominent- before the change, he could barely run around the clearing three times; now, he could run around it for the whole day without stopping. The contrast was astounding.

Every physical aspect of his being had been increased twenty fold, but sometimes this was more of an impediment than a bonus. His wildly uncontrolled limbs, prone to shaking wildly at the most opportune of moments, meant that it was difficult, to say the least, to use his strength without hurting himself or breaking something. Even before, his senses (most prominently his eyes) had fluctuated cripplingly when they experienced even the slightest change in environment. Now, enhanced to an absurd degree, the unexpected sensory assault was even worse.

But despite knowing these weaknesses, Naruto still smiled. He knew he couldn't reasonably expect to improve dramatically, and that true strength had to be cultivated carefully through intense, well thought-out training. He was simply happy that he was improving at the rate he was, but even so, he was still unsatisfied. Even with his constant training, he was still subpar in terms of combat level compared to all his peers. Even those non-clan ninja aspirants could probably fight better than him.

His body itself was a lot stronger and sturdier than theirs, but his movements lacked coordination, hampered by pain and lack of control. His chakra was also a hindrance- although he had a lot of it (he had already had staggering amounts of it even _before _Kushina had allowed Ryuuketsu no Senmonka to affect him, most probably an effect of having the Kyuubi inside of him); he could not control it at all. Kushina had explained that as a result of his unique situation, the actual chakra itself, as distinct and individual as a signature, was warped, losing its function. To Naruto, it was basically useless.

But Naruto didn't care. The number of obstacles in his path was irrelevant. His iron hard determination, which some times clashed with his rational thinking, was adamant in its refusal to stand ground.

_I… will find a cure. I… will become strong. I… will protect my precious people._

* * *

Not far from the boy affirming his resolve silently, three girls were walking, taking a night-time stroll. It wasn't actually that uncommon, as a town full of ninjas was active all throughout the night. The number of businesses that were open during the dark hours was actually equal to those that opened during the day. People still thronged the streets and went around their daily business. To the people of Konoha, 'sleeping during the night' was something that was optional, and was fully interchangeable with 'sleeping during the day' if one desired.

Even so, nighttime was much more dangerous than day-time. Even if the number of people that were awake and alert was the same as daytime, one could not dispute the fact that the dark was a natural disadvantage to humans. In a village that housed hundreds of seasoned killers that thrived in the dark, numbers meant nothing.

However, these girls, young, maybe 10 years old, did not seem perturbed by the shadows that enclosed them, lit only by the flame in the hands of one of their number. But this flame _was_ their protection.

Because it had no visible source.

It was simply a dancing ball of flame, flickering strongly in the delicate hands of a raven-haired girl. Almost certainly indicative of a chakra-based technique. Which in turn implied that the user was a shinobi. Of which attacking foolishly was unwise and dangerous to health.

Abruptly, the girls reached a clearing and stopped.

'Let's stop here,' said one of them. Three small dogs, little more than puppies, yipped at her ankles, as if agreeing.

'Mmm…' affirmed the girl with the flame, 'Yeah, okay. Look, there's even rocks here that we can sit on.'

The three girls sat down in a rough circle. The girl holding the flame shook her cupped hands for a few seconds before making a throwing gesture. The flame that she held was tossed upwards as if it were a tangible object, but hung in the air instead of falling down to earth.

Looking around, the girl who had been holding the flame started making hand-seals.

'Fire Style: Enshrined Firefly,' she murmured, as a second flame, identical to the first, materialized before her.

She tossed this one into the air as well, and then repeated the process, until the soft lights of half a dozen floating fireballs illuminated the trio.

The third girl smiled and stretched her legs in pleasure.

'Ahhh…' she smiled cheerfully, 'It feels so nice and… mysterious to do this. It's so fun!'

'But Anko… what if we get attacked? We're only genin. If there were enough of them, even civilians could defeat us. The Haimaru triplets won't be much help. What if they take us and do unspeakable things to our body?' asked the girl with the dogs.

Anko made a 'pooh, pooh' gesture with our hands.

'Don't worry so much, Hana. No one would _dare _attack us. Think about it. You're a clan heiress, I'm the prime candidate for Orochimaru-sama of the Sannin's apprentice, and Kurenai is a genius who's going for the chunin exams already even though the other shinobi her age still have two years of the Academy left. She'll definitely protect us with those scary genjutsu of hers.'

The girl who had the flame, Kurenai, blushed red. On the other hand, Hana scowled.

'I'm not a clan heiress, Anko. _Kiba _is. I've already talked to mum about it.'

'Yeah? What'd she say?'

'…'

Hana's eye twitched and she didn't say anything.

'Well?' prodded Anko.

'Ugh. You win. She said that I've got a '_duty' _as the firstborn to be clan heiress, and that being a simple vet will let the clan down. But Kiba _wants _to be the clan heir! Why can't she just let him do it? She can be such a bitch sometimes.'

'Ara ara… you shouldn't talk about Tsume-sama like that, Hana. Even if she _is _your mother, you should show some respect,' said Kurenai calmly.

Hana only wrinkled her nose and pouted. She reached down and picked up one of the puppies at her feet and placed it in her lap, absentmindedly stroking its fur. It gave a contented whine and wriggled its shoulders a little before settling down.

'Anko,' she asked quietly, 'Why haven't you graduated yet? With your skills, you could've done what Kurenai did and just skipped grades! You're certainly strong enough to be a full genin.'

Anko smiled mischievously and said, 'Well, I obviously couldn't leave my _pwecious_ _Hana-chwan _all _awone_ now in the _bawing_ Academy, now could I?'

She darted around and wrapped her arms around Hana's neck, leaning on her affectionately. Hana blushed and reached around to swat the purple-haired girl on the head.

'No, be serious,' she said, 'You know I'm fine by myself. Plus, you wouldn't stay behind because of a stupid reason like that… I know you too well.'

'Haha… alright, you got me. Well, the reason why I stay with all these shinobi-wannabes is because… _I love to play with those weak, helpless lambs… all ignorant of the slaughter that will happen. … mmmm…_'

Hana and Kurenai involuntarily shivered as they heard the bloodlust and sadistic pleasure that rippled through their friend's words. Kurenai, sitting directly opposite the other two, could have sworn she saw Anko's shiny teeth showing, even through the dimly lit gloom.

'Speaking of which,' said Anko suddenly, breaking the silence, 'Why _did _you decide to take the fast track graduation, Nai-chan? Don't you _wike_ us?'

Kurenai shook her head in amusement.

'One, don't call me "Nai-chan". Two, don't do that "cutesy" voice, it's sickening. Three, it's because the Academy is boring. So much theory and not enough action. It was… much too tame for me.'

'Ah… hear that, Hana? Nai-chan's a real tigress. She just craves battle. Do you know why she was held back a year… _twice in a row_?'

Hana blinked.

'She _was_? Really? But she was always like a model student! She never did anything wrong in class.'

'Oh, Hana, you naïve, naïve girl. Kurenai's two years older than us, didn't you know? But she was in our year level because she got held back twice. Apparently some guys started being _pervy _with her… you know the kind of stuff, it happens to all the kunoichi. Well, in retaliation, after putting the culprits in a coma, she hospitalized their entire classes, with genjutsu that usually aren't taught to anyone lower than chuunin. Upwards of sixty students, all _gone_. Some of them were so traumatized they stopped studying to be shinobi, you know. And all because they were a part of the class of someone who got on the wrong side of our Crimson-eyed Princess here.'

Kurenai looked steadily more mortified as Anko recounted the events in an increasingly more horror-like way.

'And that wasn't enough. When those that had recovered enough and still kept the nerve to try out for shinobi returned to the Academy, they were treated to the sight to Kurenai, happily burning the possessions of those that had quit. And she turned towards them, her eyes glowing like the Kyuubi's itself, and said, "Oh. More prey. Delicious." And then she started laughing like a fiend, her bandage dress coming alive and starting to strangle students. But none of the teachers intervened. Because they were too scared of Kurenai. They called her "the Demon with the Eyes of Blood", you know. That's how powerful Kurenai really is. And she's sadistic. More than me for sure. In fact, I'm only her protégé. I was once a sweet innocent little girl… before she corrupted me. And turned me into who I am today.

So when she got tired to playing of the puny insects that surrounded her, she decided to leave, and search for bigger fish to torment.'

Anko finished her tale with a sinister cackle. Hana, now looking thoroughly scared, leant back into Anko even more, taking comfort in her warm embrace. Kurenai, however took this lull in the conversation to overcome her shock and voice her complaint.

'W-w-what? Anko, that didn't happen! Hana, don't listen to her! What really happened was some guys peeked on me, and I just put a couple of genjutsu on them. I didn't hurt anyone who wasn't involved, I swear! And there was no nonsense with the fire or anything!'

Hana still didn't look too convinced.

'Damn you, Anko,' hissed Kurenai, half joking, half serious, 'You always stir up trouble for me.'

Anko merely shrugged and smirked before disentangling her arms from Hana's neck and sitting down again.

'But boys really are a pain, aren't they, Nai-chan? I mean even if they're like, our age, ten or eleven, they act like they've got the raging hormones of a teenager. Such a pain.'

'Don't call me that. But did you even pay attention in class?' said Kurenai.

Hana smirked.

'Heh. Kurenai, you were in our class for two years, you should know by now that Anko does nothing in class except sleep or ogle the boys. I mean, _she says _the boys are a pain, but she's the horniest of them all. I have no idea how she's so skilled- she never studies or anything.'

'Eh. I can believe that. But there's a reason for this, you know. You know what chakra is, right? I mean, you've _got _to know.'

'Eh, sure we know, Nai-chan. It's spiritual energy and physical energy mixed together.'

'Don't call me that. But yeah. That's it in a nutshell. Spiritual energy, the energy of the mind, and physical energy, the energy of the body, are mixed together to form chakra. Shinobi children are encouraged to use and expand their chakra reserves, accelerating the production of these energies. Of course, it isn't all used, so it goes back into the cells and the chakra circulatory system. It stimulates the physical and mental aspects of the body, accelerating growth. This is why children start learning the chakra arts as early as three years old. History has shown that they will adapt, and develop at a much faster rate than civilian children. It isn't uncommon to see academy students like us being as mature as fully-grown adults. Especially as shinobi, we'll be exposed to factors such as death and pain at a very young age, further sparking development. By the time we hit sixteen years, we might already be physically the same as a twenty-five year old. Of course, this might be troublesome as we get older… but very few live to be that old. But I guess continual chakra usage will help us retain vitality. Our bodies and chakra are designed to allow us to reach our peak as soon as possible and then make us stay there.

We are a valuable military resource, and are encouraged to mature as quickly as possible. And this isn't limited to mental aspects. Our bodies grow and develop extremely quickly. Walking can be achieved by the age of one. Advanced motor skills and fully developed speech by the age of three. Taijutsu starts to get beaten into your body at age four. And as a result, puberty also kicks in quicker. Many shinobi are a great deal younger than they look. So that's why the boys are starting to get so obsessed with girls… and vice-versa,' Kurenai finished her semi-formal lecture by throwing a dirty look at Anko, who chuckled sheepishly.

'Wow,' said Hana in admiration, 'Kurenai-chan seems so… professional. You're really good at teaching. Maybe you should be an Academy instructor, or a genin cell leader. You'd be a good mother, too.'

Kurenai, blushed, self-conscious, and quickly raised her hands to rebut this.

'No, no, no. I could never raise a child. I don't have the patience!'

Anko grinned, 'First, though, Nai-chan, you'd have to find a guy. Anyone on your mind? I mean, since you're what? Eleven, now? If the hormones are kicking in at age nine like the boys in our class, and you're two years older, you must be a right real man-slayer.'

Kurenai smiled frostily.

'No. You can't trust boys. They never keep their word, and have no honour at all. They only see you as a piece of meat.'

Anko nodded.

'Hear that, Hana?' Anko said, 'That's our Ice Queen. Doesn't let the guys gain an inch.'

'You can't trust boys,' Kurenai repeated.

'Hey,' interrupted a new voice, 'I resent that.'

* * *

Naruto had been lying on the ground, enjoying the refreshing feel of the lush grass beneath his back and admiring the beautiful tapestry of stars that spread across the midnight sky. And then three girls just came and sat down scarcely five meters away from him, and started discussing something.

Being curious, and being disinclined to interrupt their talk, he just lay there, listening. His mind quickly absorbed everything being said, knowing that the more shinobi he was familiar with in the village the better, and he slowly began to paint a mental picture of each of the three girls.

But soon, their talk started to take a direction he didn't like, and then one of them insulted him, even if it wasn't aimed at him directly. Naruto had a very strong sense of pride and dignity, and felt a natural compunction to uphold his morals, even if it came at the cost of his own health and safety.

So even as his brain urgently told him that it was _very _unwise to antagonize three kunoichi, who were older than him, trained more than him and had the advantage of numbers, he almost involuntarily decided to make a stand. He could list all the factors that pointed to his inevitable loss, but who he was, Naruto Uzumaki, meant that he inherently couldn't just take that slight lying down.

For better or for worse, it was who he was.

* * *

Kurenai started at this new voice that came from behind her, tumbling to the ground. Anko, sitting opposite her, managed to react after only a few seconds of shock, a kunai snapping into her hand.

She leapt over and slammed into Naruto, bowling him over and sitting on his chest, her feet pinning his arms down and her kunai held close to his throat.

'Who is it?' asked Hana anxiously.

She wondered why her ninken hadn't reacted to the stranger's presence, before she realized they were asleep. Making a slight sound of disgust, she nonetheless gently lifted up the dog in her lap and placed it next to its siblings, asleep in the grass.

'Mmm…' replied Anko coldly, 'I can't see. Kurenai, gimme some light.'

Kurenai, who had already recovered from her fall, silently raised her hand and summoned another Enshrined Firefly, throwing it right above Naruto's face.

Unfortunately, even if the light of the fire was rather soft and muted, when compared to real flames, it was still _way_ too much stimulation for Naruto's eyes to take. The familiar, agonizing feeling of light searing through his brain made itself known again, before all sight once again left him.

'Ah,' murmured Anko, 'It's just a boy. A bit younger than us, though.'

'So,' said Kurenai coldly, '_Boy, _why did you think you could just eavesdrop on our conversation like that? Did you think because we're young and because we're _female _means that we couldn't stop you or something? Because that's not what the position you're in shows.'

Naruto, his eyes clenched shut, slowly began the pain-staking process of readjusting his eyes to the light.

'Don't call me "Boy", my name's Naruto. And I wasn't eavesdropping, because I was here first. You actually intruded on my space, and I didn't feel like moving because some meddling girls decided to hold a conversation where I was lying down,' he snapped back.

'Excuse _me! _I don't think you deserve to talk to us in that tone! You brat! We're all shinobi, you know, so messing with us is a bad idea, _Boy,_' sneered Kurenai.

'I don't give a shit if you're a shinobi, I could take you all! You failures!' hissed Naruto angrily.

But despite his defiant words, mentally, Naruto was screaming.

_WHYYYYYY?! Why did I just do that? Damnnniittt! One of them's chuunin level, one's a clan heiress, and the other is strong enough to be the apprentice of a Sannin! With _my _body, there's no way I could beat them! Why did I do that? This damn personality, I can't bury it deep enough!_

'Alright, fine,' replied Kurenai viciously, 'We'll take you up on that. Hana, show this brat his place.'

'W-what? Why me?' asked Hana in confusion.

'Because I don't trust myself to control my urge to rip this brat into pieces, and Anko wouldn't even try to hold back. We don't need the death of a fellow Konoha citizen on our hands, no matter _how _disgusting and rude he is.'

'Eh… okay.'

Kurenai grinned in sadistic pleasure.

'Alright, _Boy, _try not to lose too quickly. In fact, come over here, where there's a bit more room. We want you to have a little more space to flail around in before you fall to your knees.'

Naruto only huffed and crossed his arms.

'Whatever.'

The rules were simple- the first to be rendered unconscious or declare defeat lost the match. The boundary was the ring of trees that surrounded the clearing. Because the little cluster of Enshrined Fireflies near the rocks was insufficient with such a large fighting space, Kurenai extinguished these and created more, flinging them high into the air where they lit up the space in a hazy, dim way.

Naruto stood facing Hana in the center of the field, face impassive. He offered her his hand.

'Let's have a good battle.'

'Um… likewise,' she said nervously, accepting his handshake.

Since she didn't want to wake up her ninken, she was fighting barehanded, but, as part of the infamous Inuzuka clan, she was more than capable at fighting a boy who hadn't even entered the Academy yet.

'Alright, you two. Ready?' asked Anko, who had volunteered to be the referee.

After receiving two nods, she grinned and dropped her raised arm, signaling the beginning of the fight.

Hana immediately snapped a single handsign, her chakra spiking. Naruto jumped back as soon as he felt this, hands at the ready to guard himself. He noticed that the handsign was of the 'Dog,' and felt a shiver of apprehension slide down his spine.

'Four-Legs Technique!' growled Hana, crouching.

Her chakra, which already swirled above her skin almost visibly, abruptly changed, flickering around her in a dense, violent aura. Her brown hair burst free from its ponytail, and her nails lengthened into vicious claws. Naruto's sharp eyes saw that her pupils were now slitted and the canines that had been revealed in her animalistic grimace had definitely lengthened and grown sharper.

Hana snarled unintelligibly and crouched even lower, her quadriceps bulging before she sprang forward with great speed, one arm reached out to slash across Naruto's chest. But Naruto had already forseen that she would do this, his brain calculating the relevant trajectories and cross-correlating what he knew of Inuzuka fighting styles and their physical stats.

He leaped off to the left, dodging Hana by quite a wide margin. He didn't know how fast she would be, so he decided it would be prudent to dodge as safely as possible. Rolling on the ground, he got up, warily looking around to try and find his illusive opponent.

But even as he had gotten up in the most advantageous position possible and had a wide range of view, Hana was much too fast. She had gotten around behind him and now brutally kicked him in the back, sending him rocketing into the ground.

Naruto let out a pained cry, and reached out with one arm to try and stop his movement. His right hand dug into the soft, loamy soil and carved a deep trench as it tried to stop his momentum. Finally, he stopped as his back slammed into a large rock jutting out of the soil.

Naruto hissed in fury as he got up again, keeping an observant eye on his opponent, moving slowly. He spat into the ground, hoping that his body wouldn't start acting up again. At the moment, his body seemed to be following his orders, and he hadn't coughed up any blood yet, but still, the migraine that never seemed to stop was blasting around in his skull, certainly not helped by his violent re-introduction into the ground.

'You wanna give up yet?' asked Anko mockingly, 'Just so you know, Hana-chan over there is usually a sweet, kind of naïve girl to her friends, but when she gets into battle or when she gets all riled up with someone she doesn't like, she turns into a savage killing machine. I'm just saying.'

Naruto didn't look at her, just saying, 'Yeah. Whatever. I'm still going to win.'

'Sure. Sure,' nodded Anko, 'Your life, not mine.'

Meanwhile, Hana had used this lull in the battle to stalk closer, a bloodthirsty, feral grin on her face. Soon, the two were only couple of metres away from each other. Hana stopped, crouching so low she was nearly on all fours, with one hand resting on the dirt and the other stretched out, knife-like nails glinting in the moonlight.

Naruto, in turn, lowered his own center of gravity, his arms at the ready to block or strike. _I'm not fast enough to chase her down… so my only chance is to counter her. _

The two stared each other down, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife. The atmosphere was stifling heavy. Naruto felt a trickle of sweat drip down his brow but made no move to wipe it away. He knew if dropped his guard, then Hana would capitalize straight away, with devastatingly painful consequences.

But to his confusion, although he didn't drop his guard, Naruto was suddenly struck with a massive impact behind his knees, snapping him forward. His mind reeled in shock, even as one arm mechanically raised itself to block against the follow up attack he knew was coming. Meanwhile, Hana's knee snapped upwards with the force of a rocket, blasting towards his nose.

But even as one part of his brain started to think _She's too fast…, _another was already thinking, calculating. Hundreds of options flickered through his brain, numbers and comparisons being made at light speed. Finally, not even a second after his eyes caught sight of the impending attack, he had decided on the only thing that might work. He started to move his arms.

_Wham! _Hana's knee slammed into Naruto's face, striking with such force that he was lifted bodily off the ground, his spine curving in an unnatural position. But then, to the shock of all those observing, it snapped back like a whiplash, and brought Naruto's leg with it. Hana desperately tried to dodge, but realized with horror that the fingers of Naruto's left hand were clenched around her knee tightly, with the strength of steel bands.

_He wasn't trying to block- he was aiming to incapacitate me from the start! _she realized with a jolt.

Even as Hana's sharp nails scrabbled at Naruto's deathgrip on her leg, drawing blood and spilling it everywhere, Naruto's foot was already beginning its ascent, swinging like a pendulum. _Crack! _With undeniable force, it smashed into Hana's chin, and snapped her head back. It was at this point that Naruto finally relinquished his grip on her knee, and she went flying backwards.

Naruto, however, after this inhuman display of aerial acrobatics and power, was carried by the momentum of Hana's own hit and tumbled to the ground. Shaking his head, he shakily picked himself off the ground, inwardly thanking Kushina for the Uzumaki's massive stamina and recovery rate.

His back ached and creaked; it wasn't made to bend that way, at that speed. But Naruto ignored it, and instead slowly made his way over to where Hana was lying, never dropping his guard. He saw her lying motionlessly on the grass, her unbound hair spread out around her head like a halo.

He opened his mouth to ask her if she was still conscious, but then she disappeared.

'Wha-' was all he got out before he was struck with a furious barrage of hits.

His clothing was torn to shreds, blood soon blossoming from deep lacerations in his skin. Powerful impacts and vicious slashes assaulted him from all directions. His eyes could only barely keep up with the whirlwind of violence that surrounded him. His body could not.

His legs shook as they endured brutal kicks. His arms trembled as they took ferocious slashes. His torso quivered as his breath was repeatedly driven out of him. He could not remember how long the attacks lasted for. It could have been a couple of seconds, or hours. He could not do anything to stop it. His quicksilver mind had run out of options. All he could do was protect his vitals and try to weather the storm.

By the end of it, when Naruto finally felt a natural breeze caress his body and sting the multitude of wounds that covered his body, he was literally coated in his own blood. His once blue and white outfit was now a uniform red, not that much of it existed. Many tatters of it lay on the ground, like discarded confetti after a celebration.

Hana was standing opposite him, her arms drenched up to the elbows in blood. She panted in exhaustion, trying to regain her breath. She glared balefully at Naruto, slitted eyes narrowed ferally.

The boy swayed in the wind, looking for the world as if he was about to fall over any minute now. But, by some miracle of god, he still stood his ground, his arms held out in a semblance of a taijutsu stance. His eyes glared out defiantly through his red painted face, the piercing blue eyes staring straight into her soul.

'Ah…' stuttered Hana in shock, but she soon steeled her nerves and regained her fighting spirit.

'GRAAAAAGGH!' she growled, rushing forward, her blood-drenched claws ready to slice up Naruto even more.

But the psychological shock of seeing her opponent still standing after such a vicious series of attacks took its toll, and she, consciously or subconsciously, advanced slower and more cautiously than before.

A fact that Naruto capitalized on ruthlessly and without hesitation. His mind, although clouded by pain, still ran on level that far surpassed this girl's, four years older than him. He deflected the strike that he predicted would come, and snapped a counter, putting as much weight as possible into it, yet without compromising his balance.

Unfortunately, Hana was an accomplished taijutsu fighter, and was fully capable of blocking even an unexpected blow from an amateur such as Naruto. However, even as she managed to get her arm in the way of the punch, she was totally caught unawares by the sheer power that had been poured into the attack.

Bolstered by the Uzumaki's insane strength of body, and driven with the invaluable knowledge of how to get maximum power out of your body and where to strike to inflict maximum damage, the blow plowed into Hana's upper arm and just continued, finishing the motion without slowing down.

Hana, pushed into the ground by the unstoppable force of the attack, momentarily feared that her arm had been broken or crushed, despite being strengthened with chakra. But luckily, after touching it and shaking it a little, she managed to move it. It wasn't broken, but there was now an angry white circle on her skin, surrounded by a sea of red, bruised flesh.

_Shit, _she thought, _that was way too powerful. If I take another one of those, and to a vital area like my torso, I could lose. _

She shook the arm out a little, wincing as the tender flesh sent out flashes of unbearable pain as it moved. She hissed in agony, but still forced the limb into a fighting stance.

_I can't take another chance like that, _she thought through the burning pain radiating from her bicep, _maybe I should use… '_that'_._

* * *

Naruto exhaled slowly, trying to regain his breath. Despite his external façade of a calm, collected fighter, internally, he was in turmoil. Losing so much blood was causing his head to pound even more brutally than before. But he refused to let his judgment be swayed by pain. He knew that his greatest weapon was his intelligence. He could already start to see the holes in his adversary's attack and defense patterns. Actually, he could see them for a while now, but before, he simply couldn't react to them in time. Now, he was starting to preempt the gaps and strike through them.

Although he knew he had only gotten two good hits in, he knew that he had the advantage of having his strength augmented by the Uzumaki bloodline. He had witnessed his punches smash through trees and crack rocks- he knew that one of the Inuzuka clan, no matter how fast, could not take too many of those hits and still stay standing.

Right now, he watched slowly as Hana started charging towards him again. Almost unconsciously, he shifted his stance to better accommodate the length of her claws. He had felt the pain that those claws could cause, and his mind almost automatically compensated in order to best avoid that pain.

He knew it probably only took one more definitive hit- preferably to a vital point like Hana's body or head- to end the battle. Just as Hana was starting to get within striking range, Naruto suddenly remembered that his face was covered in blood. Knowing that having blood drip into his eyes in combat would be extremely dangerous, he took the risk and wiped away the wet blood with his sleeve, lightning quick.

But to his horror, when the cloth left his eyes, Hana was not in front of him, where he expected her to be. Even taking into account her unnatural speed, he had calculated his movement to still allow him enough time to react dodge and counter. But instead of an angry, bestial girl, what he ended up facing was a tornado of spinning fury, right in front of his face.

'**Passing Fang**!' came a distorted growl from the center of the tornado.

Naruto, having instantly deduced that Hana had used some unknown technique to try and attack, backpedalled furiously, trying to buy time for his brain to come with a counterattack. Unfortunately, someone moving backwards would be a lot slower than someone moving forwards, and Naruto was no exception, even if he _hadn't_ been a lot slower than Hana from the start.

But even as the Passing Fang slammed into Naruto's side, shredding cloth and flesh alike, he had already accepted the fact and planned accordingly. He knew that a centrifugally based attack like the Passing Fang would be stronger at the head and weaker at the sides. So when he started to get cut by the sharp edges, he simply turned and hammered down with his fist, hoping that it would hit something vital and not get sliced to pieces by the spinning tornado.

Unfortunately, just as his arm met the resistance of Hana's limbs, he felt, with alarm, the familiar feeling of convulsing muscles. He lost control over his arm, and what would have been a powerful hammer blow to send the spinning Hana to the ground, was now nothing more than someone sticking his arm into a blender.

Despite his best efforts to dampen it, he screamed as sharp claws dug into his defenceless flesh, again and again, first in an insanely fast repeated cycle, before slowing down as the resistance slowed Hana's momentum.

Finally, she stopped completely and just crouched on the ground, a few metres away from Naruto. By now, she was almost as covered in blood as Naruto, except none of it was hers. It all came from Naruto's arm, which now more closely resembled a half-butchered piece of meat than a working limb.

But despite the crippled opponent, Hana's animalistic instincts were still in control, and they considered a standing enemy a ready one. So, again, her muscles tensed, and she exploded forwards, turning her body in the air as she did so.

'Passing Fang!' she yelled, the tornado once again forming around her flailing limbs, though this time dyed a sinister red.

Naruto snarled helplessly as he made a move to dodge, but he realized, once again, his body was refusing to listen to his orders. His knees shook as he struggled desperately to move them, but he could only watch in horror as the revolving white missile hit him squarely in the stomach.

A nauseating feeling of space encompassed him as he was ripped off the ground and thrown through the air, driven by the airborne Passing Fang. All the while, Hana's powerful claws ripped into his stomach, blood trailing out from the two's flight like a demented smoke tail.

But the flight was abruptly cut short as Hana slammed Naruto's body into the dirt, carving a deep trench with his body. Every part of Naruto's body screamed out in agony as it was driven through the ground, even though he was no longer being driven by Hana's momentum, as she had braced herself, stopping herself with her legs. Finally, he came to a stop against a large rock, blood and dirt sloughing off him like a second skin.

_Shit, _he thought… _in this condition… I can't do anything. I can't feel my left arm, my legs have no strength, and my head feels like it's about to burst open. I… can't move my body._

But despite the dire situation that he accepted he was in, Naruto didn't give up. His neurons still fired, trying desperately to find a way to climb this insurmountable mountain in front of him.

_I can't fight anymore, _he thought, _but I may still be able to win this. I have… to… use… other… methods… My… intelligence…_

He could feel his thoughts getting distorted, and his vision start to blur. The effects of blood loss were starting to take effect. He knew that he had a fast healing factor thanks to Ryuuketsu no Senmonka and the Kyuubi, but the sheer number of wounds was beyond count. But he was determined not to lose out. It was simply the type of person he was- he would never give up, even if his brain told him it was better to.

Naruto coughed up blood, not because of his wounds, but because of his body's unique situation. Bringing his hand up, Naruto wiped away the blood, his hand dropping to reveal a cunning smile, fueled by the last vestiges of his strength.

* * *

Hana growled in exasperation, her lengthened canines grating furiously on her lower teeth. Despite her most powerful attacks, this infuriating _vermin_ in front of her refused to admit defeat. She could see the toll that her claws has inflicted on him, and knew that most people would have succumbed to blood loss already, but even though he was clearly on his last legs, the blond boy in front of her continued to stand there, drenched in blood, yet unbreakably defiant.

_Tch…_thought Hana, irritated, _What _is _this guy? How is he still standing? Even _adults _would fall over from the injuries I've given him… But he hits so _hard. _I can't get close to him too easily. His strength is monstrous. If I get hit again, I might not be able to get up again. _

Just as Hana was about to leap forward, she froze as an enormous wave of killing intent slid over the field. In her experience, most instances of killing intent (mostly from her mother raging at her brother for some stupid thing he did) were intense, violent flares of energy that radiated around the user.

However, this particular killing intent, while being undoubtedly the same stuff, differed in both behaviour and appearance. Instead of blasting outwards, it sort of lazily rippled outwards, like the slithering of a snake sliding through fallen leaves. It seemed infinitely more sinister, especially since the blood-drenched boy standing in the center of it was not moving an inch, his spiky hair casting deep shadows that covered his expression.

Hana's eyes darted around as she felt the dark emotion penetrate her very being… surrounding her… suffocating her with its sheer intensity. She could not move a muscle, and it suddenly took all her willpower to simply keep breathing. The very air reeked of death and blood.

Suddenly, the boy who had until now been standing stock still, moved, stepping forward a single pace. That simple action brought with it a wave of sheer terror, and Hana had to clench her fist in order to stay upright, her nails drawing blood. Her Four Legs technique had vanished in those few moments, but she couldn't for the life of her think of the exact moment it had disappeared. Without the comforting adrenaline and power it provided, Hana suddenly felt a thousand times more vulnerable to the dark entity slowly walking towards her, one step at a time.

Helplessly looking at his face, she could not help but notice the whites of his eyes were not white at all, but instead an impossibly bright red. And this was not the deep crimson of the spilt blood that covered his body, either. It was an angry red, which stood out in clear contrast against the clear blue of the irises. She would have screamed, but her mouth refused to move, as if incased in stone.

And all the while, that blood-red devil continued to close the distance, carefully placing one foot after the next, coming towards.

Hana's throat itched. She longed to yell out, 'Don't come near!', but her muscles simply refused to obey her commands. She could not tell how long she had been frozen in place, forced to watch this terrifying boy… no… _monster_, walk towards her. Every step he took simply made the horrendous pressure increase, until her heart was hammering so hard she felt it would fly out of her chest.

Then, when he was almost nose-to-nose with her, he smiled, and the sight of blood-smeared teeth was simply too much to bear. With a gasp, her breath hitched and she fell forward, finally unconscious.

Almost automatically, Naruto's arms slid upwards to support her, and her face landed on his shoulder. The weight was no problem- his augmented body was more than capable of supporting a nine-year old girl. But there was still a problem. Wincing with agony, he nearly buckled as Hana's body exacerbated his wounds, his mutilated right arm in particular feeling as if it was about to fall apart.

But he grit his teeth and instead turned his head to look at Kurenai, who was slumped on a rock, clutching her chest with a shocked expression.

'Ha…' he grinned weakly, 'You shouldn't underestimate me, Kurenai-san. I'm not your average boy…'

And with that final remark, Naruto's tenuous grip on consciousness wavered and he fell to the ground, too far gone to try and break his fall, despite his brain trying to spark some life into his tired muscles. His back slammed into the soft grass, with Hana on his chest, and he smiled briefly at his first real 'victory' in life, even as he slowly withdrew from reality.

* * *

Thanks to MisterKuma for beta-ing again, even though both his (and mine) exams are in about a week or two. Top bloke.


	9. Chapter 9

The Kyuubi looked on, impressed, as she watched her host fight. She was surprised at how much strategy he had to use to fight on par with an opponent so far beyond his capabilities. Usually she just steamrolled her opponents (not that there were many) with sheer power. And it usually worked.

But this boy, Naruto, managed to hold his ground, even as his body rejected him. Granted, his body was not one of a normal five-year old, and was actually closer to an eight-year old. And his mind… was one that should not belong to any human.

_The 'Divine State', _thought the Kyuubi, _what must its true power be like, if even a diluted version can allow a civilian to win against a trained shinobi?_

But even as she consciously tried to keep her mind on objective matters, she could not help her thoughts straying to whether or not Naruto was okay. Despite knowing that her chakra naturally regenerated his wounds, and also the Uzumaki had mild healing powers of their own, she was restless.

Not for the same time, she cursed her situation as the Gatekeeper for her host. These unfamiliar feelings that constantly bombarded her were annoying, to say the least. And it wasn't helped at all by the way the mindscape kept changing to keep her updated on what Naruto was doing. She couldn't seem to escape it.

Right now, as she sat on the branch of a tree looking down into the clear lake, she could clearly see her reflection. However, beside that, equally clear, Naruto, still covered in blood, was lying in the lap of a young girl.

Kyuubi grimaced. That fight had been terrible. Watching the scene play out in front of her, and being helpless to interfere was a frightening experience for one such as her, who had never felt fear in her life. She knew she was immortal, something not even divine beings such as the Shinigami could change. But Naruto _wasn't,_ and that was what scared her, even though she did not wish to be.

Every time Naruto took a hit, her heart jumped, and she had to remind herself that the other girl was unlikely to kill him. It had gotten to the point where she had even retreated to the dark seal in order to escape the feelings and urges that plagued her. But even that did not completely solve the problem, and there was still a nagging feeling of guilt that gnawed at her insides. So she had tried to send some chakra through the seal, but for some reason none of it got through. Just as she began to rail against the helplessness of the predicament, she felt the slightest fraction of her power begin to siphon out from the seal and into the main mindscape. However, it did not come from the massive reservoir of youki that was in the seal, but instead from her crafted human body.

The body that had been created out of less than half a tail's worth of energy only lost about the fingertip's worth of chakra, but judging by the dog girl's reaction to it, it must have been impressive. It wasn't even real chakra, but actually just yin chakra, the mental aspect of the energy. _It must have manifested as either killing intent or pressure, _she speculated.

When Naruto had won, part of Kyuubi felt like cheering and doing a dance of victory, but her pride and dignity prevented her from doing so. But after calming down, she could not help but feel irritated at the whole affair. A being such as her should not feel so attached to a fragile human. She had felt so… vulnerable.

_Is this what it's like to be… human?_

* * *

Kurenai looked down at Naruto with an unreadable expression, the blond boy currently lying unconscious with his head in her lap. Although his clothes (the bits that weren't lying tattered on the ground) were still bloody, his skin had been washed of all dirt and blood and his wounds had been bandaged.

Of course, as Anko and Kurenai were still nine and twelve year old girls, respectively, they had not even entertained the thought off taking his clothes off to wash him. No matter how mature they were, they had still refrained from interacting closely with a male of their age yet, especially Kurenai.

So instead, they had just thrown him bodily into the small lake that lay a couple of metres away from the clearing and then fished him out after an appropriate amount of time had passed. After that, they had dried him out with a couple of minor fire jutsu and then bandaged all the visible wounds. In contrast, the similarly unconscious Hana had been given the same treatment, albeit with far gentler care.

Kurenai gently lifted Naruto's head and leant back to stretch her legs through the lush grass briefly before folding them back to a cross-legged position once again. She placed his head back in her lap and unravelled a section of bandage that stretched across the crown of his head, inspecting it to see if it had stopped bleeding.

To her shock, after wiping away the dried blood with a damp cloth, she could not see any trace of the nasty trio of lacerations that Hana's claws had left across his brow. She gently ran her fingers over the unbroken skin and wrinkled her brow in puzzlement.

She reached over his chest and lifted off the remains of his shirt. The area around his solar plexus had been particularly mutilated by taking the full damage of Hana's Passing Fang and was now swathed with liberal amounts of bandages, stained a deep red.

Gingerly, Kurenai inserted a delicate finger under the bandages and carefully loosened the tight bindings. She peered at the mass of blood and gore that lay underneath it and grimaced as the strong copper smell hit her nose.

Working up her courage, she started to rinse off the blood with the cloth in her hand, uncaring of the way it stained her own, once pristine, white dress red. She was half afraid of what she would see, as she well knew the extent of his injuries. When they had placed him in the lake, the water for about five metres around him was immediately dyed a deep red, lit up sinisterly by the Enshrined Firefly they had used.

But, as she had half expected, instead of the gaping wound that she had feared, she discovered undamaged flesh underneath the red liquid. But strangely, the slightly pinkish flesh now sported a weird tattoo of some sort. Starting off at around his bellybutton, a jet-black line spiralled outwards before terminating in a circle with eight radial spires extending outwards. It seemed to pulse gently, the dark symbols shifting and rotating.

'Hey, Nai-chan!' came Anko's boisterous voice, 'How's the blond brat doing?'

Kurenai turned her head slowly to look at her friend. Surprisingly, Anko looked unperturbed by the amount of blood that had been spilt in the battle. Even Kurenai, who had initially wanted Naruto to feel as much pain as possible, thought that things had been taken a bit far. One of the reasons why she had chosen Hana as his opponent was that she had a softer personality (normally) than the other two, and was more prone to being sympathetic to a downed enemy.

Remembering the question, and subsequently how the boy lying in her lap was not in any danger, she shoved him unmercilessly onto the grass and stood up, stretching her cramped muscles.

'Don't call me "Nai-chan"… and he's fine,' she said shortly, 'His wounds seem to have healed completely. No need to worry.'

'Ara? Maybe Hana didn't hurt him enough…'

Thinking back at the horrific wounds that had covered Naruto's body, Kurenai quickly replied, 'No, no… I think she hurt him enough. How _is _she, by the way?'

'Oh, she's fine. She just lost consciousness, is all. I can't blame her- when that blond kid started to use killing intent I thought I was going to piss myself. Oh yeah, she also has a slight concussion from when he kicked her in the chin. Hell of a strong kick that kid has. That's about it, though. She almost woke up earlier, but then went under again.'

'Oh.'

The two girls were silent for a few minutes, before a sound caught their attention.

_Cough! Cough!_

They turned as one at the sound, kunai almost instantaneously appearing into their hands from who-knows-where. But it was only Naruto, who had evidently just woken up. But to their alarm, he was coughing blood into one bandaged palm, some of the bloody spittle flying out onto the ground.

_Shit! _thought Kurenai, worried, _what if Hana did some lasting damage with her Passing Fang? Since I was the one who really incited the fight, will I get punished for the loss of one of Konoha's potential shinobi?_

With this in mind, she rushed over to help him into an upright position, mind racing desperately trying to think of the basic medical guidelines they had been taught in the Academy.

But even as her hands started to flutter around his head like a swarm of butterflies, Naruto irritatedly swatted them away, his other hand grumpily wiping away any leftover blood.

'What are you doing, you stupid girl?' he asked.

'B-but you're bleeding!' she cried in panic.

'Don't worry about it- it's always been like that. Now if you'll kindly stop waving your hands around my face…'

Kurenai stopped abruptly, her heart still racing from the shock she had gotten. She collapsed onto the ground, her legs losing all their strength from the sudden flood of relief that had swept through her body. Closing her eyes, she uttered a soft, 'Thank the gods.'

But she didn't have much time to sit there, as Anko started to urgently tug on her shoulder.

'Hey, Nai-chan! It's almost sun-up. Hana and I need to get to the Academy soon, and I want to get some breakfast.'

The shinobi Academy started at four o'clock in the morning for those at level 2, as Hana and Anko were. The starting time got progressively earlier as the years went on, in order to try and cultivate the useful habits for the field duty that shinobi will utilise in the future. Those who are trained to survive in enemy territory, such as ANBU or hunternin are trained to only need four hours of a sleep and still not suffer adverse effects. Already, Academy students in their second year, like Hana and Anko, were now accustomed to only six hours of sleep.

'Okay, fine, we're leaving, then,' said Kurenai shortly.

Looking rather nervous, she turned to Naruto, who was sitting up against a large rock, watching the proceedings with a cool expression. She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times before decided to just blurt out what she wanted to say.

'U-um. I-I'm sorry what happened earlier. I guess things were just taken a bit too far. I don't know how to put this but… can we start over? With a clean slate?'

She extended her hand, palm upwards.

Naruto looked impassively at the proffered hand, then to Kurenai's serious face. He gave an amused sigh and took her hand, showing a small smile.

'Sure. The name's Naruto Uzumaki, by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you.'

For a few seconds, Kurenai was stunned by the depth of emotion in that slight change of emotion. The way it changed his face and entire body language was unreal. In spite of herself, she blushed. Then, quickly regaining control over herself, she gave a little giggle.

'You really are different from the other boys, huh? It's nice to meet you. I'm Kurenai Yuhi.'

And with that proclamation, she ran off cheerfully, a smile on her face.

Naruto looked after her with a perplexed look on his face, before a boisterous voice attracted his attention.

'Yo! I'm Anko Mitarashi, and the girl you just fought was Hana Inuzuka!'

Naruto looked up at the violet haired girl wearing rather garish and provocative gear, who had the still unconscious Hana slung over her shoulder. Hana's three puppies were also following by Anko's heels, whining pitifully.

From what he could see, Anko's rather risqué getup was an interesting diversionary tactic, and might work on quite a few male shinobi. It made very good use of her burgeoning _assets _as well, and if they were developing at the rate they were, in a couple of years, she might be irresistible.

_Shinobi's enhanced growth is really something, _he thought, _I wonder if the growth of regular muscles is accelerated too... _

'It's nice to meet you, Mitarashi-san,' he said pleasantly.

'You know its rare for Nai-chan to apologize to _anybody _that isn't me or Hana, least of all a _boy. _You're a weird guy, you know. But don't worry, I like weirdos like you. They remind me of _myself…'_

Naruto was a little confused and a little apprehensive at the sudden change in mood, but didn't show it, instead just nodding in understanding.

'Hey,' continued Anko, 'if Hana was awake she'd probably be all over herself to apologize for hurting you and all, you know. Usually, she's so sweet, but sometimes, she just gets _riled up, _if you know what I mean.'

Naruto nodded again.

'I see,' he said neutrally.

Anko looked around in mild disappointment.

'Well,' she said, 'I'd love to stick around and chat a bit more, but we _really _do need to get to the Academy. So… I'll see you around?'

'Sure. Ah… Inuzuka-san. Is she alright?'

'Yeah, she'll be fine. I might dump her head in the Academy lake for a bit until she wakes up. That usually works. See ya!'

Naruto waved his farewell. As soon as was alone, he leant back against the rock, cooling his burning forehead. His head was still throbbing, but he smiled. This was about the fourth time in one day, which might be a record for him. _Shinobi must never show their emotions. _

But nonetheless, he grinned in pure elation.

_It seems as though I've found some interesting people, _he thought.

* * *

After Naruto had found the strength to lift himself off the ground and make it home, it was nearly noon. Although, he may have acted that he had been fine in front of the girls, residual pain from the beating he had taken and the subsequent healing had really sapped his strength. Surprisingly, being healed actually hurt quite a lot, although that might just have been because the source was a demon.

Anyway, his fellow five year old shinobi prospects would be at the Pre-Academy, where their speech and motor skills were taught in preparation for the relatively harsh and uncompromising drills imposed by the Academy. However, for obvious reasons, the Third Hokage had deemed it unnecessary for Naruto to attend. His speech was already so far developed that it almost surpassed the Third's, and while his motor skills left much to be desired, he had managed to hide this particular fact from the wily old leader for the moment. Anyway, the problem with his body wasn't something that could be completely rectified through training and instructions, anyway. It was more of an intrinsic disability.

Naruto's wounds had all healed, and he had bathed in the lake once more, to get rid of the remaining blood. Now, having just changed into dry clothes, Naruto was stuck with in an unfamiliar situation.

He was bored.

Usually, he would just train until he dropped, and then he would study theory and tactics until his body had recovered. The concepts of leisure and entertainment were almost alien to the driven, one-track mind of the young genius. All he cared about was becoming a strong shinobi in order to protect those who were precious to him (a list of about one).

But now, after stretching his body to its limits in the match against Hana, he did not want to risk his body simply giving out under the strain. Although his physical body recovered fine due to the Kyuubi's regeneration and the Uzumaki recovery rate, the stress that accumulated typically intensified after heavy use.

The pain could be crippling, as Naruto had learned when he unwisely, and against his own better judgement, pushed himself too hard in a training session. In the end, he had to spend the night lying prone in the forest, his body simply refusing to move.

So, Naruto decided not to risk it and instead started to wonder what to do. Tactics and theory was also beginning to grate on his nerves, and despite telling himself that they were necessary, he was starting to get to the point where he could not stand them. Naruto was, first and foremost, a very physically orientated person. He inherently preferred physical labour to the mentality-based bookwork. Although he may be, because of his unique situation, more suited to the mental aspect, it still didn't change the fact that he flat out didn't like it.

After a few minutes of deliberation, he decided to go visit the Hokage, who should be bogged down in paperwork again. Perhaps he might have some clues to finding a cure for the chakra stress placed on his body. Naruto had, for the time being, refrained from telling the Hokage that he was dying. But he was subtle enough to slip in seemingly innocent questions, so the Hokage could answer him without knowing his true agenda. It was through this method that he managed to deduce his parents' identity, and also the nature of the beast within his body.

_Okay, _he thought, _let's visit Hokage-sama. The polite thing would be to bring him a gift… but I have nothing… oh well..._

* * *

The secretary stared down her nose at the young boy looking back unafraid at her. She fiddled with the straight pin that pierced her neat hair bun and sighed. Looking down at the uncluttered desk in front of her and shuffled a couple of papers, flicking them into a neat sheaf with practised ease. Stapling them together with a sharp, almost violent movement, she sighed again.

'I dunno, kid,' she said idly, 'Hokage-sama never said anything about letting _anybody_ through to see him. What if you are a Transformed assassin, eh? You should know that I can't just let anyone through. Actually, you might not know. How old are you? Eight? Nine?'

'Five, actually. And do you actually think that a Transformed assassin could sneak into the most highly guarded building in Konoha? You're a trained ninja, you should be able to sense a Transformation from a mile away.'

'Ara? Why do you think I'm a ninja?' asked the secretary in surprise.

Naruto just looked at her with a pitying expression.

'Please. Why would the Hokage, the single most vital person to Konohagakure, surround himself with people that would be useless in a crisis situation? Sandaime-sama knows exactly how important he is, and he isn't arrogant or stupid enough to not do anything about it. That armband you wear, its obviously in place to cover up your ANBU tattoo. Just because I'm young doesn't mean I'm a fool, ANBU-san.'

The secretary blinked slowly, before bursting into laughter.

'Haha… oh dear,' she chuckled, wiping tears from her eyes, 'You _are _a sharp one, aren't you? You actually saw through my civilian disguise? I managed to successfully infiltrate two major shinobi villages and six minor ones, and it's useless against a five-year old? Oh dear, that's priceless… I must be slipping.'

Then, as if a switch had been flipped, she stopped laughing, and stared, deadly serious, at Naruto.

'You are right, of course,' she continued, as if she had not broken into hysterics only a moment before, 'I am an ANBU. The elite of the elite. The best. I'm only going to let you see Hokage-sama because I know that he cares for you and also because you pose no threat whatsoever. However… I just want to warn you that… if you do anything stupid… if something goes wrong and you are even _near _the source of it, I will not hesitate to cut you down. Got it? Do _not _betray my trust.'

Naruto knew instantly that she was referring to the Kyuubi, and only nodded.

As if she didn't just threaten to kill him just a moment ago, the secretary resumed her cheerful façade, smiling merrily.

'Okay, let's go then, kid. Oh, one thing… don't call me ANBU-san, got it? Call me nee-san, 'kay?'

Naruto's face twitched but he forced himself to say the words.

'Fine… n-nee-san.'

The secretary's grin only widened and she took him by the hand, leading him past the Ancient wood of the Hokage Tower's inner doors.

* * *

'Hey, kid. Actually, looks like you won't be able to talk to Hokage-sama at the moment, because he's busy. But you'll be in for a real treat as you wait. The great Jiraiya-sama, one of the greatest shinobi this village has ever produced, is back in town, and Sandaime-sama challenged him to a spar to test his skills. Sandaime-sama was his mentor, you see. So we can watch the battle until Hokage-sama is done, okay?' asked the secretary, who had just pressed a small slip of paper covered intricate markings to her ear.

Normally, Naruto would have been more interested in the potential value in the piece of fuuinjutsu being used as a communication device, but this was overshadowed by the creeping excitement in his heart. To watch two of the most dominant forces in the modern shinobi world duke it out, even if it _was _a practice spar, was an experience not to be missed.

_Who knows, _he thought, _I might even learn something. _

* * *

In a massive training ground behind the Hokage Tower, Hiruzen faced down his student, their expressions lacking the mirth that usually accompanied their reunions. They had both felt the chakra signatures of the ANBU secretary _and _Naruto arrive at the Hokage Tower's balcony overlooking this clearing, but neither felt intimidated or distracted. They were looking as focused as ever, bodies and chakra tensed and coiled, ready to strike at the slightest provocation.

Seemingly at some unspoken signal they each leaped back, chakra steaming around their legs like the smoke trail of a missile. Even as they soared backwards, the area where they had been standing immediately suffered an enormous impact, the very air seeming to compress and contract. The ground collapsed inwards, as if there had been a tunnel underneath and it had just caved in. But in reality, it was all caused by the violent meeting of the two shinobi's chakra. Such was the sheer power they wielded.

After the two combatants had separated an acceptable distance, they stopped, watching each other like a hawk, ready to react to the slightest indication of an attack.

Finally, it was Jiraiya who made the first move. His hands flicked to a single handsign, and his chakra flared, a battle ready aura that declared his intention to defeat his opponent.

'Fire Forme!' he yelled, 'Fire Style: Blaze Bullet!'

His mouth opened for the briefest second, and someone observant might have noticed that there was an '11' seemingly tattooed on his tongue, before it was masked from view by the red flames that erupted from Jiraiya's throat.

The red-orange fire was less like a bullet and more like a meteor in size as it expanded and flew towards Hiruzen. The heat was incredible, making it uncomfortable even for Naruto and the secretary, all the way up in the Hokage Tower.

But Jiraiya was far from finished as he expelled three more Blaze Bullets, the ground soon becoming hidden from view by the firestorm that raged above it. The air above it rippled as if it were underwater, the heat distorting the air and forming mirages, creating a crazy, dreamy fantasyland filled with strange lights and warped sights.

But Hiruzen was unfazed. With a cry of 'Water Forme', he started waving his arms wildly around. For a few seconds there was no visible effect… and then the scorching inferno engulfed him. But instead of the flames incinerating the aged man and continuing on to burn the forest behind him, it stopped as if it had slammed into an invisible wall. Unbelievable amounts of steam rose out of the chaos, a piercing hiss being emitted.

It was all over after a few seconds, as the fires burnt themselves out against the obstacle it had encountered. Immediately, it became clear what had protected Hiruzen. Surrounding him in a rectangular cube, a dense wall of water stood, seemingly undamaged from the flames that had blasted against it. Although the sheer amount of evaporation that had occurred seemed to suggest that much of its mass had boiled off, it was still a flawless, perfect structure. There was a smaller cube of air that was within this cube, and Hiruzen stood here in order to breathe.

'Water Style: Embrace of the Naiad,' he smirked.

Nearby, the large lake that had stood was now half-drained of all its capacity. But Jiraiya could not afford to ponder his sensei's technique. Before he know it, Hiruzen was already attacking, swinging his arms, he gestured towards his student.

'Water Style: Reverse Rain Tribute!' he grinned viciously.

As if his words had been a signal, the enormous water cube around him seemingly_ exploded_, tiny droplets flying everywhere, like the shrapnel from an explosive note set on a tree. The rain of water splattered everywhere, managing to put out the numerous minor fires Jiraiya's attack had created.

Said man looked around warily, but nothing happened. He had expected something extremely powerful from one of his sensei's water jutsus (he _had _been taught by the Second Hokage himself, after all), but apart from making him a little damp, there had been no discernable change.

If not for his battle-sharpened instincts and observational skills, he definitely would not have spotted the only clue to surviving the next blow. All the little drops of water that had been flung away were now burrowing into the ground, moving around as if they had minds of their own. And when all the water had been absorbed into the soil, an ominous rumbling began to shake the earth, tremors rocking the ground.

Jiraiya looked around warily, and it was only by merit of his instincts that he leapt out of the way just as an enormous spiralling pillar of water exploded out of the ground where he stood. It rose up, past the treetops, piercing the clouds, climbing out of sight.

Jiraiya stared in shock, his heart beating rapidly. He had felt the rushing wind that had accompanied the pillar- almost strong enough to knock him to the ground. The force of that attack had been unreal- if he had been caught under it, he'd have been nothing but a red smear amidst a sea of blue. He looked over to the perfectly circular, quite deep hole that had been left by the attack.

But he soon snapped back to the battle when he instinctively dodged a kunai that had been thrown at the back of his head. Thankfully, Hiruzen's Water Forme was rather lacking in projectile skill, and Jiraiya had no trouble in dodging it.

_Well, _he thought, _Fire Forme's definitely not going to cut it against sensei's Water Forme. Maybe I should change it up with…_

'Weapon Forme!'

Quick as lightning, a retaliatory volley of kunai was thrown at the Third Hokage with pinpoint accuracy after this proclamation. They whizzed through the air, so quick they looked like streaks of light. Hiruzen, although his reactions were first-rate, even among shinobi, could not dodge them all, and suffered a couple of light scratches across his chest, the power behind the kunai managing to shred the chakra reinforced material with ease.

But he could not gain a respite as Jiraiya loosed yet another hail of projectiles, having predicted where Hiruzen would dodge to.

Hissing in annoyance, Hiruzen had no choice but to change Formes, as currently, Water Forme was ill matched against the speedy and flexible Weapon Forme that his student wielded. He had planned on using the follow-up technique of Reverse Rain Tribute- 'Rain Tribute: Gratification', which brought down all the water that had accumulated in the atmosphere like a hammer, but now gave up on the plan.

'What a pain you are, Jiraiya-kun. Chakra Forme,' he murmured to himself, noticing that rain had started to fall, the water that had been gathered above the clouds losing their shape as he released the Water Forme.

Knowing that rain was a dangerous factor when in combat, as it could destroy concentration or footing with the slightest drop in concentration, Hiruzen quickly used one of the unique jutsus that was only compatible with the extreme control over 'pure' chakra that his Chakra Forme granted.

'Will of the Creator: Umbrella!' he muttered, and an opaque umbrella appeared over his head, hovering with no logical explanation.

But although the summoning of the umbrella only took a split second, it almost proved fatal. Jiraiya had, upon noticing his opponent's preoccupation, forgone his method of throwing barrages of projectiles, and this time only threw a single kunai. With this attack, though, he infused all his concentration, utilising every single advantage that the Weapon Forme gave him.

It was thrown with such speed and power it was more correct to say it _teleported _rather than flew through the air. The dark metal glowed white with the friction it gained by blasting through the molecules of the air. The more brittle outer sides of the kunai were rapidly whittled away, the sheer speed sloughing it off, until it was no more than a needle, becoming as streamlined as possible. The speed, the power, the accuracy… it was _guaranteed_ that his attack would hit the target.

And if his opponent had been any other shinobi, it _would _have hit and killed him. A strike like that, aimed so precisely, would have torn straight through the body, through the heart and out the other side without slowing down, the resistance unable to put a dent in its speed. The kinetic force would also be enough to blast a hole in the surrounding pieces of meat.

But Hiruzen, having taught Jiraiya much of how he thought and fought, had already anticipated a 'sure-kill' decisive attack in the lull of the battle. It was the most effective course of action, being one Hiruzen had taught Jiraiya himself. So he had planned accordingly.

'Will of the Creator: Shields!'

Directly in front of Hiruzen's chest, white light exploded into existence. Hardened chakra sheets flickered into view before they burst into millions of pieces, resembling thousands of windows being broken all at once. The chakra planes rippled into existence and were shattered within a hundredth of a second, destroyed by an invisible angel of death.

The kunai, which had been rendered invisible through sheer speed, could now (barely) be seen though the resistance of thousands of chakra shields. Although the defence of such constructs was quite notable, they did not pose the slightest threat to such a powerful attack. However, the _amount _of chakra shields was so much that it slowed down the almost unstoppable projectile. Instead of piercing through and bringing instantaneous death, the power had been decreased to 'punching through the body messily'.

However, even that slight drop was enough for Hiruzen. His hand, which had already been rising when he had started to summon the shields, was now covered in a hard film of chakra, in the shape of a gauntlet. It hit the speeding kunai and with a metallic _clang_, deflected it, spinning away into the lake.

Hiruzen hissed as he looked down at the half destroyed gauntlet with an annoyed expression. Without the concentration that came with declaring the technique name, the construct (Will of the Creator: Gauntlet) was only about half as powerful as it would normally be. He had suffered a very light stab wound to the chest, above his heart, about as deep as a pen tip. His hand had also suffered slight burns and a negligible scratch that ran parallel to his palm's lifelines.

He focused, and the gauntlet reformed around his clenched fist. This time though, unlike the vague, translucent covering that appeared last time, it was now a fully tangible, opaque gauntlet, complete elaborate metal bracings. It also extended down to cover his forearm, metal plates interlocked like the shell of an armadillo.

'Bring it on… you won't get another chance like that again, Jiraiya-kun.'

* * *

Naruto's jaw dropped wide as he struggled to follow the furious battle. The attacks were on a scale that he had never seen before. The slightest mistake could mean death. Although they both obviously cared for each other's safety, they were hurling around deadly techniques without the slightest hesitation.

'So reckless,' he breathed.

'Actually,' interrupted the secretary, eyes resolutely fixed on the duelling figures, 'Hokage-sama and Jiraiya-sama are not being reckless at all. This is the standard that they spar at. At their level, life-or-death becomes the norm. They are well acquainted with each other's skill level and amount of tolerable pressure. If they did not push each other's limits, there would be no point in sparring or training. That is the truth for such high-levelled shinobi.'

Naruto gave a disbelieving shake of the head.

It was almost too much to comprehend. His mind was so advanced that it knew the true nature of the devastating attacks and genius defences being traded, but it was also practical enough to realise that such power to be wielded so casually was almost unattainable. These two men were, without a doubt S-class, standing between the border of men… and gods.

So it made him shiver when he remembered that even shinobi of this calibre, _army-killers,_ were almost powerless against the might of the Kyuubi, sealed within his own gut.

* * *

'Ha,' sneered Jiraiya in contempt, 'I see you haven't lost your touch with your defensive techniques, sensei, but I've grown from when I was part of your genin team. Your measly chakra constructs can't stand up to the firepower that I can pack now!'

He snapped off a few shuriken, knowing that although they were precisely on target, they would not hit the wily old man. Meanwhile, his hands deftly yanked up the sleeves of his battle-coat. Then, with a quick slash, he lightly cut his palms with a kunai that somehow got into his mouth. Even Jiraiya did not truly understand the mechanics of how his Formes worked. He just went with the flow.

Slapping his hands against two small ink circles on his forearms, he smiled grimly. His unsealing skill was a little wonky because the Weapon Forme was not made for delicate chakra manoeuvring, but he had no time to switch Formes and back again just to unseal something. He could manage.

'Brace yourself, sensei. Here's a little something I picked up… the Hakai no Tsuin'akkusu (Twin Axes of Destruction)!'

With a burst of smoke, two enormous bronze axes appeared in Jiraiya's hands. They were both ornately decorated with intricate carvings and glittering jewellery, and wouldn't have looked out of place on ceremonial stands. But despite that, the wickedly sharp crescent blades seemed all the more deadly for their extravagant adornments.

Jiraiya leaped from into the air from a run, already turning, his axes complementing him like the spokes of a wheel. The centrifugal force provided by the undoubtedly heavy pieces of metal spun him around like a top, and he descended on the waiting Hiruzen like a deadly human shuriken.

'Here it comes,' he shouted from inside, 'The left blade, Gureetoakkusu: Masshou (Great Axe: Obliteration)!'

The great bronze axe slammed into the dirt, the edged blade coming within centimetres of slicing off Hiruzen's nose. It hit the packed earth, which immediately burst apart, unable to stand the power of the powerful blow. The axe sunk deep into the soil, the blade soon becoming lost under the wet loamy dirt.

But despite his failed attack, he didn't stop his movement. Pushing his foot down onto the half-submerged axe, he brought the second axe down to continue his assault.

'The right blade,' he finished, 'Gureetoakkusu: Shoumetsu (Great Axe: Annihilation).'

The whirling golden blade winked in the daylight, now no longer tainted by the short rain, and sliced the air viciously, aiming to take off Hiruzen's head.

Hiruzen exhaled excitedly, his blood pounding with the thrill of such an exhilarating battle. Despite his delight, he was still deadly serious, and his focus was as sharp as ever.

'Will of the Creator: Rope,' he muttered, and a chakra rope anchored around a nearby tree snapped around his torso and yanked him out of range of the deadly weapons. But even as he was pulled through the air, the man hailed as 'the Professor' was already plotting a way to end the battle.

He waved his hands just as his legs twisted back to latch onto the tree trunk.

'You're not the only one who has learned new tricks, Jiraiya-kun, ' he murmured, 'Will of the Creator: Hii-san.'

He stopped stock still against the tree as the ground underneath Jiraiya bulged upwards ominously, like an erupting volcano. An enormous golem in the shape of an armoured samurai burst from the ground, right behind Jiraiya. Moving with speed that did not fit an object the size of a house, the golem placed his katana at the shinobi's throat. The tree-sized blade glittered with inner-worldly light, consisted of the same chakra that made up the rest of the golem.

'Oh…' smiled Hiruzen cheerfully, 'Seems like a draw.'

Jiraiya looked suspiciously at him for a second before nodding in defeat.

'Alright. And I thought I'd beat you today…'

He waved Masshou in the air half-heartedly before it vanished in a cloud of black smoke, followed quickly by Shoumetsu in a corresponding red cloud. Then, he made an 'open' gesture with his fingers, and the gossamer wires that had been attached to his fingertips loosened from around Hiruzen's throat.

At the same time, Hiruzen's golem started the slowly fade from view, almost like a mirage.

The two shinobi brushed themselves off nonchalantly, almost as if they had not participated in a 'friendly' battle where 99.95 percent of the ninja population would have died from the first attack.

* * *

'Oh… wow…' breathed Naruto.

His body was shaking with equal parts fear and excitement. His body was frozen with sheer awe and shock at seeing what the upper echelons of the shinobi world was capable of. And _this _was where he wanted to be in the future?

But after a few seconds of shivering, his mouth almost involuntarily formed a smile. His true personality, buried under mountains of intelligence and carefully constructed facades, erupted to the surface for just a moment.

'Oh well. If the goal were easy then what would be the point of aiming for it? Bring it on! I'll be stronger than Jiraiya-sama. I'll be stronger than Sandaime-sama. I'll be stronger than my father... I'll be the best. And the world will remember Naruto Uzumaki!'

Meanwhile, the ANBU secretary looked at the strange boy who was muttering to himself and shook her head.

'They all start to go crazy around this age…' she muttered to herself.

* * *

Sorry about the delay, I (and MisterKuma as well) had exams. :( sadface. But we powered through, and managed to survive! Yay~!

As always, MisterKuma was a great help... and a special mention goes out to Rickjames196, who went to the trouble of reviewing every single chapter. His enthusiastic comments really inspired me to write more. Thanks!


	10. Chapter 10

I think I should take this chance to reiterate that my story is Alternate Universe. I'm making a huge portion of this up, and modifying whatever the fuck I want to suit my needs. I do my best to be consistent, but some changes and additions are intentional. Thank you.

* * *

'Hmm?' asked Hiruzen, who had stripped to the waist and was drying off his sweat with a towel, 'You want to know something about medicine?'

'Yes…' said Naruto, standing a respectable distance away.

The two were standing in the former's office after the practice match, the secretary having gone to reclaim her station and Jiraiya, after handing in his reports and greeting Naruto briefly, had left to continue his investigations.

'Oh. By any chance, has this got anything to do with the fact that your body is breaking down?'

'!'

Naruto stiffened in shock as he heard the startling revelation. He had no idea that the Hokage had already picked up on his situation, even though he had tried his hardest to hide the fact from him.

'I found… this…' Hiruzen held up one of the contacts that Naruto used to hide his bloodshot eyes, 'and a bloodstained tissue when I went to visit. After that, it was a simple affair to assign one of my ANBU to tail you and report any findings.'

'Ah,' said Naruto in disappointment, 'Hokage-sama, it was not my intention to deceive you… just…'

'You didn't want to worry me, correct?'

'Yes. You have so much work to do; yet you insist on spending some of it visiting an orphan like me. I know I am a special case because I am both the son of your successor and also the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, but you know I am well capable of taking care of myself.'

Hirzuen gave a tired sigh.

'You are much more than simply the son of my successor, Naruto. I think of you like a grandson.'

Naruto's breath hitched.

'Hokage-sama! You _cannot _hold such emotional attachments, especially to one such as I, who does not have a way of defending myself! What if an enemy uses those attachments to hold you at their mercy?'

Hiruzen gave a sad sigh and said, 'Naruto, Naruto. That mindset, while correct in theory, is in reality the wrong way to go around doing things. None of the great shinobi of history have become strong or famous by discarding their emotions entirely. Bonds and ties give us strength, Naruto.'

Naruto still looked stubbornly unconvinced.

'Well,' continued Hiruzen after a pause, 'I think I have the answer to your dilemma. It took a little bit of searching, but I _think _I managed to find the reason why your body is breaking down-'

'I know the reason,' interrupted Naruto quickly.

Hiruzen looked at him curiously and made a 'go on' gesture with his hand. Haltingly, Naruto divulged what he had learned from his mother during the encounter in his mindscape. However, he refrained from mentioning his source, as the fact that he contained the soul of one the previous heirs of the Uzumaki might stir up some waves in the circles that still remembered Uzushiogakure and its might. Some of which did not have his best interests in mind.

As he went along, Hiruzen nodded thoughtfully. So far it seemed to match up with his own hypothesis and proposed solution. It filled in a couple of gaps in his comprehension of the situation, but overall, it seemed to fit in.

'Okay, Naruto. The problem seems to be that the stress of your body is too concentrated. Both your body and mind can't stand up to the pressure. So to fix it, we're going to try and divert some of the pressure. I'm sure you've heard of "Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows?"'

'Heh. Such a fundamental part of Konoha's shinobi… if I didn't know what it was I'd be a real failure.'

'Well… by my calculations, by creating more Formes, we can rid you of all the negative effects that have occurred, without adverse effects. Because the damage is mentally based, and therefore spreads to your chakra through the yin aspect, the creation of Formes would be perfect for you. By expanding your mindscape and chakra variables, the stress can be split up and you'll just be a normal shinobi. However, you will most likely lose your unnatural intelligence- it is a byproduct of all the energy focused in your mind, and so once we drain the energy, it will also disappear.'

Naruto nodded gravely.

'While it is true that my intelligence is a vital advantage and my greatest weapon barring the Kyuubi, the negatives that this situation has provided me with far outweigh its positives. I… want to use Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows. Please teach it to me.'

Hiruzen smiled.

'While it is nice to see you so eager, I'm afraid it isn't as easy as teaching a singular technique. Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows is initiated through a third party technique- a hybrid genjutsu/yin style ninjutsu that is cast by another, usually a mentor. It takes a while to prepare for safe use, and unfortunately I do not have enough time at the moment. A delegation from Sunagakure is coming tomorrow, and I have to put up with them for a month. So, if its okay with you, can I postpone the event until next month?'

Naruto blinked and gave a small, contented smile.

'Of course. I would be willing to wait as long as necessary. I've put up with the headaches and the coughs for five years now. A month or two won't make any difference.'

'Then, until next time, Naruto-kun.'

As Naruto was ushered from the room by the ANBU secretary, he was almost jumping with excitement.

_I'll be able to sleep again. Able to move with control. Able to speak without coughing. Able to think with clarity. Able to protect my precious people. Finally._

* * *

Naruto moved through the streets, still buzzing from the thrill that came with the fact that he was most likely going to be cured. He knew that it was unwise to expect too much from the simple promise, and that pinning all his hopes on it would only make it hurt more if it didn't work out, but he simply couldn't bring himself to care. He ignored the evil glares and stony faces that the villagers wore when he passed by, and almost skipped down the road. However as moved past an enormous walled compound, his enhanced hearing heard the distinctive sounds of stifled sobs. But overlaying the muted sounds of sadness, the repetitive _thwack thwack _of wood being pummeled came thick and fast.

Curious, Naruto looked around to see if anybody was looking, before vaulting onto a barrel, then a stack of crates, onto a nearby stall roof. Leaping up onto the high wall, he hung with arms over the edge, looking to see what was going on.

Below, in a deserted training square, a white clad boy, about the same age as him, was attacking a number of wooden training dummies with a viciousness that did not seem right on a five or six year old child. Even as Naruto watched, the boy slammed a right fist glowing with chakra into the straw packed torso. To Naruto's shock, the strike ripped through both the cushioning straw and also the stout wooden post underneath, sending the entire half of the dummy flying into the air. Not pausing, the boy then moved to the next one, sending a flurry of flickering strikes that ripped into the dummy, rebounded off and then snapped forward again like the strokes of a whip.

To his surprise, the boy who was attacking with such precision and focus was actually the source of the crying. Thick tears dripped down his pale cheeks, only to be shaken off with the force of his violent movements. Then dripped into the fine sand that covered the ground, making strange patterns. But despite the way he was sobbing, the boy's breath never lost its furious rhythm, always in the driven and regulated half-pant that came with controlled exercise.

Seeing the boy's clear eyes and white garb, Naruto immediately recognized that he was from the Hyuuga clan. Remembering that he himself was hanging on a compound wall, he realized with a start that he was trespassing on Clan property.

Down below, the boy who had been beating the dummies into smithereens stopped for a few seconds, only to explode into a blur of motion, and three dummies that had been standing next in line immediately exploded off their stands as if there had been a mine underneath them.

Naruto almost whistled in appreciation, but refrained because he didn't wish to be caught. Suddenly, the boy turned around to point directly at him.

'Y-you! What _hic _are you doing on Hyuuga Clan property? Come down here at once!' he ordered.

Naruto was stumped for a few seconds, before realizing with a shock that prominent veins surrounded the boy's eyes. _The Byakugan! _he remembered.

With a sigh of resignation, he leaped off the wall and landed onto the training ground, his legs bent to cushion the impact.

'What were you _hic _doing?' asked the Hyuuga boy, 'Were you spying on the Clan? Do you not know what the Hyuugas hold? We hold the _hic_ Byakugan, the greatest doujutsu in the world. You would be discovered in an instant.'

Naruto looked closely at the boy, noting the black armbands that adorned his arms.

Ignoring the boy's speech, he interrupted him by asking, 'Why were you crying?'

The boy bristled and winced before haughtily turning to retort.

'It's none of your business, commoner, but my father died last week, for the sake of the glorious Hyuuga Clan. Although it was a noble cause, his position as a member of the Branch Family means that it was his duty to do so. It must have been his fate. Such tears dishonour him.'

Naruto looked impassively at him. He knew it was unwise to interfere, but he felt, deep down, that he needed to help this boy, before the bitterness that milled around the boy consumed him. Konoha did not need a shinobi who relied on concepts such as fate. _Shinobi must not assume belief in that which cannot be proven to exist._

'Really? Fate? It was his fate to die, "for the clan"? I think not. Fate has nothing to do with it.'

'What do you know? You stupid _hic _commoner! The glory of the Clan is paramount! My father died for the clan! He died because he was born as a Branch House member! As the twin of Hiashi-sama, if he had only been born a couple of minutes _hic _earlier, then he would have been spared his death! It must have been fate!'

Naruto tilted his head.

'Couldn't it have been bad luck?'

The boy's face contorted in rage.

'Luck? LUCK?! You think the death of family, no… the way the entire life of my father was dictated, was due to _luck?!'_

Naruto nodded.

'Yep. It's more likely than _fate._'

'You… haven't felt the _pain _of losing a family member. You don't know what the pain that having a burden that you cannot rid yourself of feels like… the threat of death always hanging over your head. Your life, held at the whim of someone else. You know _nothing,' _the boy spat viciously.

Something inside of Naruto almost snapped at that statement. He looked at the other boy with an unreadable expression, full of equal parts empathy and quiet rage.

'I think its futile to talk to you any longer, Hyuuga. You will not understand. You are nothing but a child, who sees the world as nothing more your own personal bubble. Despite your Byakugan, you are shortsighted,' he said slowly.

He turned to go back over the wall, but an iron grip on his shoulder stopped him cold, the slim fingers biting into his skin.

'Stop,' said the boy, with undeniable authority.

Naruto could feel his gaze boring into the back of his head, but did not flinch.

'What?' he asked.

'You simply _do not _insult a Hyuuga, in their _Clan Grounds, _and expect to get away with it.'

Naruto snorted.

'I merely speak the truth as I see it.'

'_You are severely testing my patience, commoner.'_

The sound of grinding teeth and the way the boy's fingers were tightening painfully around his shoulder were indicators of how close he was to losing control, but Naruto still smirked fearlessly. Internally, he bemoaned how he was already getting into another fight he could not hope to win not even a full day after the first one, but an unfamiliar thrill was already beginning to course his veins.

'I'm not going to take back my word, Hyuuga, so _show _me your conviction. Show me your '_fate' _exists! Fight me!'

The pressure on his shoulder vanished, and Naruto spun around, a battle-hungry expression on his face. The Hyuuga boy had jumped back, and now held a battle stance, crouched low on the ground. His Byakugan was already activated, and was glaring hatefully at him.

'You cannot _hope _to beat me, commoner,' he growled.

Naruto's lips curled into a contemptuous grin.

'Perhaps not, but I will show you, with these fists, that your petty _fate _does not exist. Your fate is what you make of it. If you let your life be dictated by this notion, then you are no more than a fool. Come, Hyuuga, and show me your conviction!'

With this roar, Naruto leaped forward, his fist drawn back, glowing with chakra.

'And _**I **_will meet it head on, and shatter that pitiful excuse!'

With a wide sweeping strike, Naruto's punch swung through the air about five centimeters from his opponent's stomach. Slamming into one of the training dummies, the enhanced fist blasted straight through, and crashed into the pristine compound wall.

With a terrible crack, the weathered stone bore the brunt of Naruto's augmented strength and chakra, and a small crater formed, large fissures splitting off like the spokes of a wheel.

But the movement had been much too large and overextended, and the Hyuuga boy capitalized with controlled precision. Five strikes landed. One on his stomach, one on his chest and the third on his forehead. Two more landed, almost like an afterthought, on either side of his belly button.

'Gentle Fist: Primordial Eclipse!'

Naruto felt a supernova of pain ripple through his body, and he could only give a strangled cry as he fell forward, his body limp and without strength. He could feel blackness rapidly eat up his vision, but with a superhuman amount of effort, he lunged forward.

With a bestial roar, he threw a wild punch with the last of his strength, sending his power, his chakra, his_ will _with it.

But even as it reached the end of its swing, Naruto felt, with a sinking feeling of disappointment, that it didn't connect. However, he was too far gone to worry about it for too long, and he quietly fell into the dark land of unconsciousness.

* * *

The Hyuuga boy hissed in surprise as an enormous glowing missile of chakra slowly rippled out from the blond's fist, flying towards his face. He froze up in horror, but his mind moved quickly enough to figure out that if he stood where he was currently, the chakra projectile would hit the actual buildings of the compound.

Having never seen chakra as dense as this before in his life, the Hyuuga shuddered as he thought about the potential damage that could happen. Moving quickly, and almost solely through instinct, he stepped forward and tried out something he had seen one of his senpai do during a training session.

'_The Hyuuga's Gentle Fist can destroy __all __chakra-based constructs.'_

His arms started to blur as he began to strike at the chakra again and again, fingers no more than a flicker of a moment. His eyes started to itch, but he kept them open, his Byakugan straining at its limits. He could see the weak parts of the chakra ball, and he struck them without hesitation. Long sections of chakra extended from his fingers, sharpened into vague needle-like structures as he sliced at the missile with abandon.

His remaining chakra blanketed the area in front of him, cushioning the impact as the missile smashed against him and forced him towards the compound. He was rapidly running out of chakra as he protected himself, but he didn't pause, his finger 'blades' unrelentingly slicing at the relatively slow-moving bullet.

It seemed like forever, but finally, after one more gargantuan effort, the Hyuuga sliced through the final section of the original chakra missile. By now, he was pressed hard against the inner wall of the compound. His arms, although trained to move extremely fast, had lost all their strength, and his eyelids felt extremely heavy. It had probably only been thirty seconds since he defeated the blond boy, but it had felt much longer.

The boy sighed, then threw a glance at the boy lying prone on the ground. Snapping his fingers, he summoned one of the Branch Clan members who had been delegated to be the domestic servant for the day.

'Take him to the guesthouse. When he wakes up, throw him out, but tell him "I have witnessed his conviction. I'm not impressed, but he is free to challenge me any time,"' he ordered.

The man nodded impassively and gave a sympathetic look to the downed blond.

'Yes Neji-sama.'

* * *

Neji heaved a great sigh and sat down against the wall. He was nearly out of chakra, and his body ached all over. Thinking back, he thought about his latest opponent and what an enigma he was.

The technique that Neji had used to instantly incapacitate him with, 'Primordial Eclipse', was a basic Gentle Fist technique, and one usually taught to beginner Hyuuga. It was used to knock an opponent into unconsciousness, and was very easy to perform.

It usually consisted of ten Gentle Fist strikes to specific parts of the body. Having completed the ten strikes successfully, the victim, having their flow of chakra blocked at essential points, would lose consciousness immediately. Because the blockage is only temporary, if the strikes are not placed within a certain amount of time, the technique would be rendered null. Also, the areas where they had to be were fairly specific, so moving targets were hard to hit.

Obviously, it is rarely used against higher leveled opponents, as they are usually skilled enough to avoid being hit so many times in such specific places. One of the weaknesses can be countered, though, through training. If struck with supreme speed and precision, and if the Gentle Fist chakra is manipulated adeptly enough, the number of hits can be reduced.

For example, Neji had already managed to reduce the number of strikes to five, and this lead to him being hailed as a prodigy. Although not particularly hard, this was quite rare, because weaker Hyuuga rarely had the initiative or ability to adapt the technique, and the stronger ones usually didn't bother, as their enemies' skill levels rendered it obsolete.

However, it was strange, because although his opponent had succumbed easily to the technique, it had actually been quite hard to penetrate his chakra circulatory system. Neji had found that the chakra flowing through the blond's veins was incredibly dense and was moving at an unbelievable pace. He theorized that if his modified Primordial Eclipse didn't target a person's chakra system where it was at its thinnest, than it wouldn't have worked at all.

Upon activation of his Byakugan, Neji also found out that the other boy had an unbelievable reserve of chakra, easily dwarfing even his uncle's- the Hyuuga Clan Head. The enormous reservoir was like a bright light shining into his eyes, surrounding the other boy like an aura and affecting everything around him. It was especially bright in two places, a distinction so obvious to the Byakugan it was akin to telling red from blue.

Around the boy's navel, the bright chakra swirled into what seemed to be an enormous core of energy, but unusually, it possessed a different _quality _to normal chakra. It seemed a lot denser and… more _primal. _Although it shone with a slightly red tinted light, to Neji, it seemed like a bottomless dark pit for a reason he was unwilling to explore.

The second place where the chakra seemed to glow especially bright was inside the boy's head. But instead of the giant 'core' that sat in his belly, his head seemed like the battleground for two great forces. Two almost indistinguishable shades of white met and alternately repulsed and attracted each other, at rates so fast it seemed like a blur. This rapid chaos was most prominent around inside the skull, where it seemed like inside of a storm.

Neji was unsure whether it actually had any adverse effect on the boy's body, but his chakra was certainly in turmoil. Although it flowed in a conventional manner (albeit at vastly increased speeds and quantities), the very nature of it was in disarray, and refused to work in the regular way.

'I wonder who that was,' muttered Neji out loud, 'I doubt I'll ever see him again… maybe in two years time when I start the Academy.'

_I mean… I did say that he could challenge me whenever he wanted, but he's probably too scared after how easily I beat him._

* * *

'Hyuuga!' yelled Naruto, 'Fight me again!'

Neji turned around slowly.

'You, again? Didn't you learn from when I beat you senseless yesterday? In a couple of seconds?' he asked acerbically.

'Eh?' Naruto replied, 'Didn't you tell the other Hyuuga to tell me that I could fight you when ever I wanted? Until I proved your stupid conviction wrong?'

Neji looked at him, dumbstruck, then smiled grimly.

'True, true.'

After a pause, he looked up at the other boy.

'What is your name, commoner? Tell me.'

'Your own?'

'Neji Hyuuga of the Branch Family of the Hyuuga Clan.'

'Naruto Uzumaki. Pleased to make your acquaintance.'

'Likewise… you don't seem like one to give up, so you'll probably be coming around here a lot. I don't believe you'll ever beat me, but simply telling you that isn't going to change anything, will it?' Neji asked with an almost playful sneer.

Naruto grinned with unadulterated, savage joy.

'Nope!' he declared, leaping off the ground and reaching for Neji's throat.

Neji's armed snapped into a stance almost before he could think about it, and he felt, in spite of himself, a battle seeking smile sneak onto his face.

'Great. I think I've earned myself another practice dummy.'

* * *

A few days later, two small figures danced across a plain training field, their arms and legs moving in a blur. One was an aristocratic young boy with composed, fine features and long black hair that framed a pale face adorned with a glowing green sigil on his forehead. The other was a grimy looking urchin with spiky golden hair and crystal clear blue eyes alight with determination.

Soon, it became clear that the graceful-looking manoeuvers that the two were carrying out actually had incredibly violent undertones.

Even as the dark-haired one's hands flickered out in a graceful series of gestures, the tips of his fingers could be seen lit up with a strangely sinister glow that shone in a way reminiscent of the way a poised dagger reflects the moonlight. The golden-haired one responded in a spin that was almost a perfect pirouette, but hidden in that turn was a kick that had enough force to crack stone.

The two separated again, before diving for each other, attacking each other with reckless aggression, yet still, somehow, managing to retain a razor-sharp sense of control.

This was most apparent in the dark haired one's movement, exemplified when he turned a neat somersault and struck with his perpetually glowing fingers in one fluid movement. But even as his arm started to complete the action, his other- _free_- arm was already beginning a similar motion, ready to unleash the second blow in a barrage of hits.

However, the blond one, having experienced- countless times- his opponent's method of attacking, was already aware that the strikes were coming. He dropped low instantly, his knees groaning under the pressure, before ducking under his adversary's arm and releasing an uppercut as he sprung up again.

However, as he caught sight of his opponent's smirking visage over his outstretched shoulder, he realized with a sinking feeling that he had overextended and left his side open. His mind snapped off furious calculations, and thousands of possible actions flew through his mind, based on what his opponent would most likely try and how he himself could possibly react.

But fast as his mind travelled, he knew, instinctively, through days of intense training that familiarized him with his current opponent, that his foe had a myriad ways of attacking, and even one mistake with countering them could mean instant (literally) defeat.

But the first hit landed on an area that the blond knew very well. The familiar burning sensation on his stomach was usually indicative of a Primordial Eclipse. But he, having taken the combo about four times a day for almost a week now, the blond was pretty sure he had found a way to disable the sure-win attack.

Since the technique relied on blocking his chakra pathways, and he knew that he had an abnormal amount of it, he immediately flared his chakra, flooding the pathways with as much energy as he could.

But, unfortunately, his actions did not go unnoticed by his opponent's vaunted 'All-Seeing' eyes. They were capable of watching the swell and ebb of his chakra flow, and when his core started the unmistakable expansion of a chakra flare, their owner was well aware of what was happening.

So instead of the expected third strike of Primordial Eclipse, what the blond received was an overload of vicious chakra that penetrated his skull and rattled around, wreaking havoc because of the headache that was already present. It felt like someone had driven a stake into his head.

He gave a cry, but, to his horror, his limbs had locked up, and he didn't seem to be able to move at all, instead forced to stand there like a statue. His eyes flickered madly, but he was powerless to do anything as his dark-haired opponent pressed his palms against his chest.

Again, two enormous jolts of chakra ripped into his body, although he could not make a sound to express his pain. His muscles, if they felt stiff before, were now, if possible, even more locked up than before. They felt like they had been cast from stone, even as little aftershocks of pain still reverberated emptily through his frozen flesh.

The other boy smiled.

'Maybe the other two "Consecrated Smites" I gave you was a bit overkill, but I never know with you. You've already learned to defend against the Primordial Eclipse. However, you are still a long way from defeating me, commoner. So, goodnight~!'

With a satisfied smirk, he tapped five spots on the blond's body, and the familiar sensation of Primordial Eclipse stole over him, toppling him slowly to the ground.

* * *

Naruto awoke with a start. He was lying under the shade of a large tree, his head lying on a soft cloth. With a groan, he sat up and looked around in confusion. Immediately, he spotted Neji sitting cross-legged with his back to him, reading a book.

He looked down and realized he had been resting on his own discarded jacket. Evidently, Neji had placed him there until he regained consciousness.

Looking at Neji's back, Naruto frowned as he analysed the other boy's position. He was much too unwary. Deciding to teach him a valuable lesson about constant vigilance, even in friendly territory, Naruto rose silently into a crouch. Moving slowly, deliberately, he stalked over, ready to grab Neji's shoulder and give him a scare. Maybe that would leave a more lasting impression than simply telling him.

'What do you think you're doing?' came the direct, cold voice out of the blue.

Naruto straightened up with a guilty expression that he quickly covered up with his usual mask of indifference.

'You need to be aware at all times. Even on friendly ground, you can never be too careful. What if I was a Transformed enemy, or he had been lurking under the ground? Your posture and positioning was much too unguarded. You would have died instantly,' he told him.

Neji sighed. Slowly, he turned around, the area around his eyes bulging with veins, a sign that his Byakugan was active. Obviously, this was how he knew Naruto had been sneaking up on him.

'I have my Byakugan, commoner,' he said, 'which would have revealed all Transformed and underground shinobi. My Byakugan has a range of fifty metres, which is more than enough. I _know _there are no enemies around, which is why I can afford to relax.'

Naruto snorted.

'You have your Byakugan, sure, but what if you didn't turn it on? You have slightly higher than average chakra levels for a six year old, but that gets drained dry in about ten minutes when you fight. Remember yesterday? I managed to outlast you, and you collapsed. That one was my win.'

Neji bristled at the reminder.

'Actually, it was a draw, because I still managed to take you down with my last attack.'

'Whatever. But also, fifty metres isn't even that long of a distance! Shinobi can cross fifty metres in the blink of an eye. Shunshin can get an enemy right under your nose in less than a second. Specialist snipers can hit you in the back of the neck with a kunai from hundreds of metres back. You still need to be wary, Neji.'

Neji scrambled off the ground.

'You sound like you've recovered. Judging by the way you're talking trash, you want me to smash you to the ground again,' he challenged.

Naruto leapt to his feet.

'You're on, Hyuuga. I'll get you this time!'

'Just try it!'

* * *

Neji Hyuuga, the nephew of the Hyuuga Clan Head, and Naruto Uzumaki, village urchin, would, from these early encounters in the Hyuuga Training Grounds, become the best of friends. They would push each other to new heights, as partners, as friends, as rivals. Their friendship, although starting off on the rocky foundation of bashing the shit out of each other, would blossom into one of the sturdiest bonds that our protagonist will ever forge.

* * *

Yay~! Holidays have begun! Thanks to MisterKuma for betaing, even though he would much rather be playing Maplestory or League of Legends or watching anime or whatever the fuck he does during his free time.

Anyway... since I've hit Chapter 10, which is a pretty significant milestone, I'll be taking a short break. Rest assured, I haven't stopped writing, I'll just be splitting my focus a little. Re-evaluating priorities and all that jazzzzzzzzz...


	11. Chapter 11

As you may have realised, I use predominantly British English, because I live in Australia and that's the way I was taught. Sometimes things such as '-ize' appearing instead of '-ise' as in 'specialize' instead of 'specialise' or other similar cases happen, but that's mainly the auto-correct preset on my computer. Similarly, I have, until now, been using single quotation marks (') instead of double (") when indicating speech, but most of you, my beloved readers :), seem uncomfortable with that, so I've decided to adapt and change to the latter method. Hope this will smooth over your reading experience. I'm still going to stick with italics for thoughts though. Thank you.

* * *

Naruto sat back in his chair, a thick leather-bound book in his hands. In front of him, the Hokage sat, filling in some forms. He glanced down at the page again, which was from a rather… _boring _historical encyclopaedia filled with information on many of the more notable characters in the shinobi world. It was similar to a bingo book, but contained much more background and irrelevant knowledge.

An actual bingo book would be better suited for the reason Naruto was reading it for, but it was illegal for anyone who was not jounin or higher to possess a copy. As such, Naruto was forced to trawl through a great deal of trivial and extraneous waffle that wouldn't help at all if he was, for any reason, to face one of these shinobi. And although he constantly told himself that that it was necessary for his survival, Naruto felt his determination to continue reading through the long-winded and wordy text fading by the second.

He decided to take a break for a few seconds, and looked up from the enormous block of words on the page. He took care to look at the floor and then up the wall sideways, in order to stop his hypersensitive eyes from reacting to the bright sunlight that streamed in from the window. This long-time habit reminded him that he was soon to be rid of his handicap, and made him giddy with delight.

A small smile _almost _burst from his tightly leashed facial expression, and only the thought that he was in front of the Hokage allowed him to retain his composure.

He looked back down to his book, and was reluctantly about to start reading again when the Hokage hesitantly cleared his throat.

"Um, Naruto?" he started nervously, "I need to meet the delegation from Suna in about five minutes, so I'll have to leave you. You can go now, or you can stay here and read if you wish. I trust you won't touch anything you know you shouldn't?"

Naruto nodded.

"I expect everything that might be important to village security, even in the slightest, would be sealed away anyway, correct?"

The Hokage, getting up from his seat, only deigned to smile mysteriously and give a single- almost proud- nod.

Naruto closed the book slowly and also stood up, moving to place it back into its previous position.

"Well, then, Hokage-sama, I'll take my leave. Until next time," he said gravely, with a slight bow.

Hiruzen frowned at the formality, but said nothing of it, instead waving farewell.

* * *

Naruto nodded to the ANBU secretary and walked out of the Hokage tower, wondering what to do now. Acknowledging that his muscles felt a little stiff after sitting down for so long, he decided to go train a little in the training ground.

His training sessions were much less frustrating now that his mother had gifted him with the 'body' aspect of Ryuuketsu no Senmonka. The sessions were only limited in the frequent surges of uncontrollability that his body provided. His stamina was sufficient to last him for as long as he wanted, and his strength, speed and durability were all above average. However, upon questioning the Hokage, he had learned that although they were definitely better than a normal shinobi's, his increase in power was still much less than what a full-fledged Uzumaki would have.

However, the knowledge that unlike normal Uzumaki, he could still perform regular ninja arts made him thankful of the fact, knowing that perhaps versatility would be better than pure power. Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows could easily make up the difference anyway.

He paused and considered going to train with Neji, but his body was still a little sore from yesterday's training. He had fought with the young Hyuuga for what seemed like the entire day. Every single battle ended up with a defeat for Naruto, but he felt that he was steadily closing the lead that Neji held on him, forcing him to utilize stronger and more advanced Gentle Fist techniques. He could avoid Primordial Eclipse almost all the time now, and was starting to counter Consecrated Smite already.

_No,_ decided Naruto, _I will train at the training grounds by myself again._

* * *

Naruto sighed as he slumped against a tree. Although training by himself was probably, in the long run, less effective than constant sparring against a constantly evolving opponent like Neji, it was still good to go out someday and just wear himself out with repetitive drills.

It was a shame he didn't have a taijutsu style that he could repeat katas for, but he still made do with basic movements and practiced manoeuvres that he had come up while fighting against Neji. Although the ones his quicksilver mind had come up with were undeniably sound techniques, they were still no match for Neji's own skill. They seemed to be… missing something.

Although his mind found countless possibilities, trawling through the numerous options would take too much time, and Naruto was content with just working along as he went, confident that his taijutsu skill would grow naturally as he continued to train with Neji.

He got back up to do some limbering exercises when he heard the distinctive sound of the Hokage's sonorous voice. Curious, he leapt up onto the branch of a tree, his hands easily finding handholds as he scrambled up to his perch.

He leapt from tree to tree, careful to find stable footing and handholds before moving, to prevent himself falling due to the untimely muscle spasms that he was prone to suffer.

Only a few metres away, Naruto came to the edge of a clearing. It was another training ground, evident by the training dummies that had been installed in one corner of it. And, in the middle, standing in a small group, were five men.

One was the Hokage, and next to him stood his student, Jiraiya. Naruto recognized these two immediately. The other three must have been the delegation from Suna.

* * *

Hiruzen gave a short laugh as one of the men in front of him recounted an amusing anecdote about his travels through Marsh country. It was the first day of the Suna delegation's month long stay in Konoha, and Hiruzen and Jiraiya were trying to do their duty as good hosts and make them welcome.

After introductions had been made in the Hokage Tower, Hiruzen had suggested that they get more acquainted with each other with a tour through the village. Their tour had culminated in a lunch at a quaint little restaurant at the edges of the village, and then one of the Suna delegates had asked if they could all go on a walk through Konoha's beautifully scenic outskirts. Hiruzen and Jiraiya had, not seeing any harm in the request, acquiesced without hesitation.

Hiruzen had not met any of the men before, but was familiar with their reputations. They were three of a famous group of five shinobi in Suna, similar to the Sannin in renown. The Five Winds of Suna: notable for their powerful battle-changing specialist skills, they had turned the tides of battle in Suna's favour many a time.

The delegation consisted of the North Wind, the West Wind and the South Wind respectively. Suna probably would have sent the other two Winds as well, but international shinobi protocol dictated that having more than three S-class shinobi in a foreign shinobi village was tantamount to a declaration of war. There were exceptions, of course. If the host village gave explicit permission specifically for a specific S-class shinobi to be allowed to attend in addition to the limit of 3, then it would be admissible. However, this clause almost never got invoked, because there weren't that many S-class shinobi just floating around anyway.

Caught up about thinking about the reason behind the visit, Hiruzen almost missed when the South Wind, who had been telling the joke, suddenly altered his body language and thrust out a knife hand glowing with wind chakra at his guts.

His instinct screamed into action, and his elbow dropped to block the strike. However, the attack stopped well before it managed to pierce his skin. A large hand had gripped the South Wind's wrist with an iron grip, preventing it from moving. All eyes flickered over to the owner of the hand… Jiraiya.

The man in question placidly sipped from a saucer of sake, his attention seemingly elsewhere. His manacle-like grip, however, never faltered.

"Oh dear," he muttered without a hint of panic, "looks like a couple of fools overstepped their bounds."

He dropped his empty saucer, and it landed on a rock, shattering with a tinkling sound. His free arm snapped up to point at the three Winds in front of him.

"Smells like treachery. Foolish children…"

The three Winds only saw the '9' that blossomed into existence on the forearm pointed towards them before the same thought went through each of their minds.

_Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows!_

"Chakra Forme," stated Jiraiya calmly, "Flash Cannon."

And an enormous blast of white energy erupted from his palm and struck the three men in front of him, launching them away.

* * *

Hiruzen blinked, unconcerned, as the three Winds in front of him picked themselves off the ground.

"I didn't think that you would take such a foolish step, Minami-dono. I would have thought that you, in particular, would have known the folly of attacking us on our home ground," he said gravely.

The man known as the South Wind shook his head to shake off the shock of being thrown to the ground by Jiraiya's attack. He winced.

"Forgive me, Hokage-sama," he rasped out with difficulty, as if he couldn't get enough air into his lungs.

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow, before nodding in understanding.

"So it's _your _doing, Shiraishi-dono," he deducted.

The West Wind nodded, a snake-like smile adorning his face.

"My 'Winds of Change' are irresistible. Minami has no choice but to attack. Can you _really _strike down someone who has no intention of attacking you, Hokage-sama? _You, _the kage with the reputation of being 'peace-loving'?"

Hiruzen smiled.

"Do you really think I can't incapacitate a single ninja, even if he _is_ S-class, by myself?"

"Ah… you have a point. Which is why there isn't only one ninja. Have a taste of Suna's finest!"

Suddenly, the large clearing was entered by a dozen Suna ANBU, all armed to the teeth.

Almost unconsciously, Jiraiya and Hiruzen moved so their backs were touching each other, facing the ring of Suna shinobi that surrounded them.

Jiraiya smirked fearlessly and slid his left eye shut. When it opened, the sclera contained a jet-black number seemingly inscribed on his eyeball- '16'.

"Yep," he breathed to his sensei, "they're all under the influence of the Winds of Change… except the North and West Winds."

"Tch. You sure?"

"Please. The Hunter Forme is never wrong. I can smell the stink of it from their chakra, I can hear it in their heartbeats… I can almost see it coming off them like an aura."

"Damn. We need to take them all down without killing them, then."

"Yeah."

"Fighting both the North and South Winds would be… tricky. The West Wind is pretty much useless once we take out all his pawns… can you take the North Wind out of the battle?"

"Sure. Can you handle the ANBU as well as the South Wind?"

"...who do you think you're talking to?"

All the while as they were talking, the ANBU slowly tightened their ring around the pair, subtly shifting their weight to prepare for any unexpected assault. And even though the Konoha pair kept their conversation light-hearted, their reactions were on hair-trigger, bodies ready to explode into action at the slightest provocation.

* * *

Naruto picked himself off the ground gingerly. Although he had been holding onto the branch that he had been standing on tightly, he had not been prepared for the light that had emitted from Jiraiya's palm. The light had been so bright that it had seared straight into his eyes, rendering him blind again for about ten seconds. As well as the light, Jiraiya's technique had also brought a buffeting wind that had been sufficient enough to knock Naruto off his perch. Without the help of his eyesight, Naruto was unable to protect himself and toppled to the ground without anything breaking his fall.

Now, after his eyesight had returned back to normal and he had checked himself for injuries, Naruto debated what to do while he slowly climbed back up the tree. He knew that he could be of no help… unless he drew on the power of the Kyuubi resting inside of him. However, he hadn't made contact with the beast yet (not that he'd tried), so the chances that it would succeed this one time were very slim indeed.

But upon seeing the scene in front of him as he reached his previous position, his blood boiled. Two of the men he respected most in the world were surrounded by hostile shinobi, all with drawn weapons and closing in an unmistakably predatory manner.

His vision started to go red, even as his brain began to blare warning signals, telling him to stay in control. But his rage could not be contained. It continued to mount silently, as Naruto clenched his fists so hard that blood started to drip where his nails dug trenches in his palms. His body shook wordlessly.

Naruto may act as if he had no emotions, but the truth is that he was, and always would be, an extremely emotional person. He created bonds very easily, even though he himself tried to prevent this. He tried to throw himself into the shinobi principle of never showing emotions, but he could never fully suppress them.

And now that two of his 'precious people' were being threatened, nothing could curb his reprisal.

* * *

Jiraiya subtly tensed his muscles, ready to leap at the North Wind. But before he could move, before he could do _anything, _an enormous pillar of chakra exploded out from the treeline directly in front of him.

He almost jumped in shock, but years of discipline and battle-tested control allowed him to retain his stance. His sensei was the same, still standing still and ready, despite the unexpectedness of the occurrence.

However, judging by the way the North and West Winds had reacted in surprise, the chakra burst had not been part of their plan. Jiraiya surmised that the ANBU and the South Wind would have done the same if they hadn't been controlled by the Winds of Change.

But despite the reassuring feeling that it wasn't even _more _reinforcements for their attackers, Jiraiya still couldn't stop the small shiver of apprehension slide up his spine, as he prepared himself for what might reveal itself from the swirling energy. Whoever would reveal their presence so readily by expending such a large portion of their chakra must be either very confident or very stupid.

And when he finally saw the source of it, Jiraiya couldn't stop his mouth from dropping open.

Standing confidently on the branch of tree, Naruto stood, glaring defiantly at the enemy ninjas.

But instead of the gloomy, stone-faced boy that he knew, Jiraiya now saw something much different, much more frightening.

_An avatar of wrath… _was the phrase that ran, unbidden, through Jiraiya's mind.

And it wasn't difficult to see why.

A stark contrast from his usual posture, Naruto was now crouched animalistically on the branch, seemingly no longer interested in securing his position. His fingers were curled into claws, which were in turn brandished at the objects of his ire. His golden hair, wildly spiked, framed his irate expression, the long blond strands flapping over his face in an unseen wind. His eyes, usually a beautifully deep ocean-coloured blue, seemed to have frosted over, now adopting an almost glacial hue. The streaks of red that were visible in his eyes almost made Jiraiya think that the Kyuubi was having an effect on the boy, but a closer inspection revealed that they were just bloodshot.

And, most noticeably, even more than the disturbing and intimidating picture that Naruto made, was the huge qualities of chakra that was being released from his body. It burst from his pores and escaped into the sky like a reverse waterfall, the sheer amount of it distorting his image.

It was in many ways very similar to the Third Hokage's Damage Forme, was the first thing that Jiraiya thought upon seeing it. But where the latter's chakra burst upward without stopping like a solid pillar of light, Naruto's chakra instead billowed upwards in 'waves', irregularly flickering upwards like enormous tongues of flame. It brought to mind the swaying bodies of vipers, ready to strike at any moment, ready to inflict pain, suffering… _death. _

Jiraiya wondered exactly what had happened to the quiet boy he knew to force him to such measures, but then remembered that he had more pressing matters to deal with. The Suna shinobi, although rattled by the strange, unpredictable appearance of an unknown variable, were much too well-trained to allow it to shake their composure for long. The North and West Winds were both S-class shinobi, and although the others were all under the control of the Winds of Change, they were obviously no slouches either. The South Wind was also S-class, and no village would have active assassination ANBU lower than A-rank.

They all subtly shifted their stance to be able to react from attacks from either the Konoha pair or the newcomer, and then also began edging- ever so slightly- towards the former, determined to initiate, even with the introduction of a new variable. Perhaps, normally, they wouldn't have been so eager to charge a duo of two of the strongest shinobi in the world, but the Winds of Change that controlled their body didn't actually give them a say in it.

Jiraiya clicked his teeth in irritation. He had harboured a slight hope upon feeling the chakra that it would be reinforcements, but he knew fully well that Naruto would be of almost no help at all. In fact, with his body's unique _peculiarities, _he would actually be a hindrance.

Jiraiya wondered if it would help at all if Naruto used the Kyuubi's power, but then dismissed it out of hand when remembering that Naruto had no experience in controlling a bijuu's power, and would probably rampage out of control, being just one more problem to solve.

Suddenly, Naruto's flaring chakra spiked skyward, bursting into the sky like a rocket and separating from his body. The wildly flicking energy formed an enormous ball in the sky, like a heatless, colourless fireball.

Jiraiya furrowed his brows until, with a sudden flash of inspiration, saw through Naruto's plan.

_It's a signal flare! He's purposely creating a commotion with his massive chakra! The ANBU will be here in no time! But… even the ANBU can't take on three S-class shinobi alone. Sensei and I need to take out the North and West Winds. I'm confident that the South Wind doesn't want conflict… and the Suna ANBU are simply out of their depth. Once we take out the West Wind, the tides will turn. So, before the ANBU arrive, we need to take out at least one Wind. I'll initiate. _

Turning his head ever so slightly, Jiraiya nudged his sensei's arm with his elbow, subtly tilting his head to the North Wind. Equally discreetly, Hiruzen nodded his head.

Jiraiya's mouth tilted upwards at the corners. It was time to execute one of his favourite manoeuvres.

He tensed his muscles, his Hunter Forme allowing vastly superior muscle control, and leapt towards the North Wind in one swift movement. The leap was carefully calculated and performed, as it was integral in the next part of the combo. But, even as Jiraiya was moving through the air, he was already changing Formes.

His muscle mass expanded in mid-air, the increased bulk significantly speeding up his descent towards his target. A combination of both this and the speed of his leap meant that his opponents had almost no time to react.

Before they had even fully turned to attack him, he had already landed on the ground, creating a small crater and shockwave, and then belted the North Wind in the face. His new Forme, the Power Taijutsu Forme, was strong enough to send the North Wind straight into the surrounding forest, breaking a couple of trees as he went along.

He had successfully separated the North Wind from the West, but he had no time to celebrate as a barrage of assorted jutsu and weapons bombarded his position. Quickly switching to Agility Forme, Jiraiya nimbly dodged the attack and skipped backwards.

He couldn't resist poking his tongue out impudently as he retreated slightly, an action that almost made Hiruzen facepalm. But he didn't. Instead, almost simultaneously, both he and Jiraiya performed two sets of handseals. The first was to change into Earth Forme. The second was in preparation to use a single jutsu in collaboration.

"Earth Style: Dirt Domination Rampart!" they yelled.

Two enormous walls of earth burst from the ground. Stretching across the training field, they completely blocked off the North Wind from his comrades. Entirely deliberately, Jiraiya was also on that side of the wall.

It was all part of the plan.

* * *

Hiruzen turned his attention to the shinobi in front of him. In return, the West Wind narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Immediately, a Suna ANBU rushed towards the earthern wall and tried to tree-walk over it. Unfortunately, even as he took the first step, the platform beneath his feet began to shift and move.

Unlike the more common Mud Wall, the Dirt Domination Rampart wasn't made of packed earth. Instead, it was a construct made from loose soil and dirt. The chakra binding it together made it sturdy enough to withstand moderate damage, but its real purpose was to hinder escape or pursuit. Because of the complexity of the chakra needed to form it, it usually wasn't used by anyone who wasn't an Iwa ninja or a Konoha shinobi using Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows.

The Suna ANBU's momentum allowed him to traverse a fifth of the way up the wall, but it could only bring him that far. The lack of footholds and stable ground was too much of an obstacle to overcome. Even when he tried to drive his hands into the earth to hold on, the loose soil continued to flow away from his hands, leaving him scrabbling at nothing. Finding it futile, he finally flipped off the wall and retook his place back among his colleagues.

Behind him, the dirt that had fallen to the ground at the foot of the wall quickly and efficiently slid back up, mending the holes and gaps. The entire process took almost five seconds.

Hiruzen hadn't reacted at the ANBU's attempt to scale his wall and now grinned viciously.

"Well, looks like it's _my _turn to take the offensive."

* * *

Naruto slumped against the tree trunk, exhaling heavily. He had only just barely managed to exert some control over his rage-fueled emotions. He had been on the verge of throwing himself in the fray, which would have gotten him killed almost instantly.

At least he had managed to channel all that pent-up frustration and rage into a flare signaling the ANBU, but Naruto still felt a deep-set feeling of dissatisfaction with his strength. He wanted to protect his precious people, but at the moment he was useful for nothing except being a glorified lantern.

"Goddamn it!" he yelled, punching the tree trunk.

He clenched his bleeding fist as his eyes anxiously followed the many figures arrayed before him. As if in response to the emotions flickering inside of him, the flare in the air seemed to burn brighter and more ferociously than before.

* * *

The North Wind cracked his neck threateningly as he picked himself off the ground. Although he had been hit in the face with Jiraiya's Power Taijutsu punch, he still looked fine, with the exception of some slight swelling around his jaw.

Jiraiya stared at him impassively, a few paces away. He was still in his Earth Forme, which wasn't exactly the best choice to fight with when in a close combat situation. However, knowing full well the danger that his opponent represented, he dare not let his concentration waver for the slight instant it took to change Formes.

The two S-class shinobi stared at each other, each waiting for the other to make the first move. However, neither was willing to give in. The first to make a move had an advantage, but an appropriate counterattack could potentially be even more devastating.

Finally, the North Wind seemed to get impatient and made the opening gambit. He was probably aware that the longer he dallied, the longer his comrades would have to face the wrath of the God of Shinobi. Although there were two Winds and a whole squad of assassination ANBU taking him on, he still wasn't convinced that they could hold him off.

The Third Hokage was a legend. His many exploits, his many achievements, stretched far beyond counting. Surviving all three Shinobi World Wars and retaining a seat as Kage for a record-breaking amount of years, Hiruzen Sarutobi was indeed almost godlike, as befitting his epithet.

Someone as monstrously powerful as he would not let something as trivial as _age _dull his skills.

_Yes, _the North Wind promised himself, _I definitely need to take care of Jiraiya quickly… the Third Hokage is definitely the bigger threat._

* * *

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow as he saw the North Wind rush at him. He didn't expect something so reckless… but then he quickly understood. The telltale aura of condensing chakra around his arm made him realize that his opponent wasn't pulling any punches. He was aiming for a swift kill right from the start.

Jiraiya snapped backwards, only to realize that the North Wind was much faster than he expected. He was approaching very fast, with a huge white arrow-shaped blade held in his hand- obviously a chakra construct of some sort.

Jiraiya gritted his teeth in irritation and dropped to the ground, and hands pressing against the ground.

"Earth Style: Demesne of the King!" he cried, his chakra pouring into the earth.

The affinity that Jiraiya held with the earth while in Earth Forme was incredible. Even as the chakra exited his pores, it was already almost fully converted into earth-natured chakra and Jiraiya could start moulding almost immediately.

Demesne of the King was the strongest earth defense he could throw up in as little time as possible, and Jiraiya was very confident in its strength. Because of this, he leapt up even as the soil and dirt began to rise all around him in a bowl-like construct. Pressing himself against the wall of the jutsu, he promptly summoned a rock blade from the surroundings.

The Seismic Shard.

The Seismic Shard was one part of a tried and true combo that Jiraiya had used to great effect in the past. One of Seismic Shard's special properties was that as it moved through earth, it collected vibrations, striking the first enemy with accumulated force that much resembled a natural earthquake. So, his next step was to use Mica Schist Mirage to move through the Desmesne of the King to hit his enemy. The more he moved with Mica Schist Mirage the stronger his Seismic Shard would become, but he couldn't risk wasting time when facing an S-class opponent.

Jiraiya smirked. One of the crucial parts of the combo was knowing where the enemy was. This was where the last skill he was using came in handy. It was a very simple technique, with such small chakra cost that when in Earth Forme, Jiraiya kept it active all the time, almost automatically. It was called Tremor Sight, and just allowed him to sense his surroundings- as long as he was touching the ground- in a limited area. It _could _be used as in buildings, despite the artificial floor, but was less effective and took more effort.

And right now, Jiraiya could easily feel that the North Wind was heading directly towards the section of wall that he was hiding behind. Jiraiya felt a flash of excitement.

_Easy… _he thought, before a terrible thought struck him.

Although Jiraiya knew the abilities that the Five Winds of Suna possessed, he wasn't exactly sure which Wind possessed which skill. Suna was notoriously secretive about their prominent shinobi's abilities, perhaps due to the enormous number of 'specialist' branches of shinobi abilities that existed there. Although some of them, such as puppetry and Wind Mastery were already common knowledge, the Five Winds, with their own unique powers, promised the start of even more specialist branches.

Jiraiya's extensive spy network had uncovered the abilities of the West Wind (Winds of Change) and the East Wind (Tragedy in a Dust Storm), but he currently wasn't certain about who possessed the remaining three abilities.

However, he knew only one of them possessed one that could counter his Demesne of the King, and he had a terrible feeling that same person was rushing towards him at the moment.

Deciding that it was prudent to take the safer option, he immediately leapt back, instead of continuing with his planned combo. And not a second too soon, as a glowing white blade suddenly sliced through his Demesne of the King as if it were paper. Four more swift strikes created a rectangular opening, through which the North Wind confidently strode. In his hand, the arrow shaped blade was still held, tightly clenched, glowing with an odd light.

"There's no doubt," breathed Jiraiya, "So your ability is the Diamond Peacock."

The North Wind smiled.

"You _are _as good as they say, Jiraiya of the Sannin. Correct! My special ability is Diamond Peacock… the ultimate weapon! Constructed purely from the unmatched slicing power of the wind, the Diamond Peacock is my unstoppable blade."

He gestured casually with the arrow blade, before unexpectedly dashing forward, moving to decapitate Jiraiya with a single blow.

Jiraiya knew that he had no earth defenses that could stop the Diamond Peacock, so instead, he sacrificed as much time as he could afford in order to try and pull off a Forme Change. Almost too late, he managed to switch to Agility Forme in the nick of time, neatly dodging the deathblow by ducking and juking backwards simultaneously.

He turned and leaped onto the side of a tree and then bounced back onto one of the walls of his Demesne of the King, his knees bending to cushion the impact and send him back into the air like a spring. Even without looking back, he knew that the North Wind was closing in on him, but he didn't let up, his Agility Forme working without pause to move him all around the battlefield as he tried to think of a plan.

Finally, he decided that if Diamond Peacock was a wind jutsu, then his best bet would logically be fire jutsu. Now armed with a plan, Jiraiya pushed his Agility Forme to its limit to try and gain even a slight advantage over his pursuing opponent.

He launched himself into the air, scrambling up over the Demesne of the King and then throwing himself as far away as possible. As he made that final leap, Jiraiya immediately changed out to his Fire Forme, his concentration never wavering despite the breakneck pace of the battle.

He landed from his leap, Fire Forme fully primed, and immediately spun around to try and take down his pursuer, a flaming ring around his palm. His trained and experienced eyes immediately took in the situation… which was that the North Wind was about a metre away from him, his Diamond Peacock primed to pierce through his chest.

Jiraiya reacted as fast as he could, but his Fire Forme wasn't equipped for that sort of action. He only barely managed to throw himself backwards out of the thrust that aimed to pierce his heart, but the Diamond Peacock still grazed his arm.

To his amazed horror, the glowing blade, instead of making a shallow cut, effortlessly sliced a huge wound into his bicep. Blood immediately started to gush from the wound, pouring down his arm without pause.

Jiraiya hissed in pain. Even compared to wind jutsus' supreme cutting attributes, the Diamond Peacock was unnaturally powerful. It had felt more like a laser had cut through his arm than a blade. He hadn't even felt any pain until blood started to flow.

Luckily, even though it was dangerously deep, it was still a single cut. Jiraiya reached over with his uninjured hand and pressed his finger against the edge of the wound.

"Fire Style: Searing Torch Tip," he murmured, all the while retreating as fast as he could.

A flame flickered into being from the tip of his finger and then spread along the cut, cauterizing the wound. It didn't even hurt, because Jiraiya used the barest minimum of Emperor of Flames to make the surrounding flesh into flame in order to temporarily negate the damage.

_Wait a minute… _thought Jiraiya abruptly, _If the North Wind could keep up with me when I was using Agility Forme, how has he not attacked me while I'm in Fire Forme, which is much slower?_

Jiraiya stopped to take stock of the situation, not wanting to fall into a trap… which was lucky, as the North Wind suddenly dropped out of the sky, his Diamond Peacock aimed where Jiraiya _would _have been if he had continued with his pace.

The blade hit the earth, but it did not impale it like a normal blade. Instead, it slid right through without resistance. The North Wind, familiar with his blade's special characteristics, used this to his advantage as he yanked it straight up through the ground to point at Jiraiya. It was like a ghostblade, so efficiently it moved through obstacles. An unstoppable blade of light, whisper light and unbelievably fast.

But despite the speed, the moment Jiraiya had suspected that he was falling into a trap, he was ready. His hands snapped up, and his fingers formed a rectangular window. Normally he would have used handseals, but he had no time. A weakened, seal-less version would have to suffice.

"Fire Style: Cyclonic Firestorm!" he yelled.

A burning spiral of flame burst from the rectangle that his fingers formed, engulfing the North Wind in a scorching inferno.

Jiraiya, despite knowing the power of his Fire Forme, just waited, his next jutsu held at the ready, unsure whether his opponent was still alive and kicking.

* * *

Alright, thanks (as always) to MisterKuma for beta-reading this chapter. Some of you may be wondering why it took so long to get this chapter out to you. Well, that's because I was writing and developing my second story, Remnant, a Naruto/Kenichi the Mightiest Disciple crossover. Also the way I write is time consuming in terms of releases. Before releasing any chapter, I make sure I have the **next** three chapters already written out. This ensures that I can proofread without bias, as well as being able to (hopefully) spot plot devices or character development that might backfire in the near future. In other words, I had Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows chapters 11 (this one), 12 and 13 at the time of my last release. But before this one could be released, I wrote Remnant chapters 1,2,3 and 4 as well as Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows chapter 14.

So hopefully that will explain the lengthy wait.


	12. Chapter 12

Hey guys, just a quick note- as you may or may not know, I don't usually reply to reviews. Rest assured, I read them all (the few that I get), and I place great importance on their content, but I don't reply to them. If you want to get through to me to clarify something that I wrote, or you want spoilers or anything, then PM me, or just write in your review that you want me to get back to you. I'll be more than happy to get back to you.

* * *

Hiruzen stared down his nose at his opponents, who could only stare in shock. The West Wind, in particular, was stupefied at how much he had underestimated the Third Hokage. Said man merely smirked, every part of him exuding confidence and power.

Underneath his foot, three ANBU lay in a broken heap, each one unconscious. The reason being that Hiruzen had taken care of them in a blink of an eye, before his opponents were even fully aware that the battle had started.

He now fearlessly took a bold step towards the enemy, despite the superior numbers and visible weaponry. But this action was actually meant to hide the fact that the spiky '8' tattooed on his achilles tendon was disappearing.

_Speed Forme probably won't work a second time, _Hiruzen acknowledged.

He leaped forward, but only as a feint, as he quickly turned a cartwheel and lashed out with his foot at one of the ANBU to the left of him. The unfortunate ANBU was struck with spectacular force, but was skilled enough to jump back at the last moment, reducing some of the damage.

But this didn't throw off Hiruzen's calculations at all. He merely leaped towards another ANBU and then lashed out, a dark grey blur suddenly appearing from his hand, extending the reach of his attack. It slammed into porcelain mask that the ANBU wore and shattered it, the chakra imbued object not providing any resistance to Hiruzen's power. The ANBU wearing it was sent flying into the Dirt Domination Rampart, slamming into it and then dropping to its base. He didn't move.

Hiruzen finally stopped his whirlwind movements, coming to a stop in a guarded stance. In his hands, a dark grey steel bo-staff pointed steadily at the throat of yet another ANBU.

The pause was only temporary, as Hiruzen only stopped for a second before lunging, the staff's point aiming to seemingly impale the unfortunate ANBU. But a second before the connected, it was swept aside, a flying blur crashing into it and knocking it away.

Hiruzen was confused but didn't try and regain his balance, instead deciding to continue with the unexpected movement, spinning his body in the same direction, righting himself and getting back into a ready stance.

He raised an eyebrow, wondering what had deflected his blow. Upon seeing so, his lips curled in a grim smile.

The South Wind stood in front of him, his hands held out in front of him in a taijutsu stance. Putting two and two together, Hiruzen immediately deduced which ability his opponent possessed based on the limited information he already knew from Jiraiya's spy network.

'Streamline' was a technique that infused the limbs with wind chakra, increasing speed and power. There were also a number of nifty bonuses, but Hiruzen wasn't too sure about them. He had heard rumours, but as with all information concerning the Five Winds, he wasn't certain about their authenticity.

Despite this, he still readied his staff, confident that he could still win.

_The match-up against me is actually quite good_, he thought, _the West Wind is helpless once I take out every one afflicted with the Winds of Change, and the South Wind is a taijutsu fighter… not well suited to fighting against weapons. _

He grinned and leapt forward recklessly, aggressively swinging his staff like a whip.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jiraiya was having a much harder time dealing with the North Wind. He had hoped that his Cyclonic Firestorm would have finished him, but his opponent had effortlessly sliced apart the dense chakra-fuelled fire with a couple of slashes from his Diamond Peacock.

Jiraiya was now back into his Agility Forme as it had become clear that his Fire Forme was useless. Although he had a number of Formes and options he could use, against such a powerful S-class opponent wielding a natural counter, many of them were rendered useless. Jiraiya actually had a great number of non-combat Formes, because he had adjusted his shinobi jurisdiction to be more suited to an espionage and intelligence/counter-intelligence type shinobi, which somewhat limited his fighting potential.

His combat skills were more along the lines of sheer power, which was then replicated many times through Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows. But against the North Wind and his Diamond Peacock, all his ranged jutsu were ineffective. Even chakra-enhanced constructs such as the super durable Demesne of the King was effortlessly sliced through. And although the Diamond Peacock was indeed a wind technique, even a relatively powerful fire attributed attack was negated.

Out of all his Formes, Jiraiya was now left with a number of Taijutsu Formes, as well as his Weapon Forme. Using taijutsu against the Diamond Peacock was pure suicide, as a single solid hit could immediately incapacitate if it wasn't an instant kill. Which, by process of elimination, only left the Weapon Forme to try and fight off this terrifying opponent.

With this resolution now in his mind, Jiraiya stopped his dodging in order to try and switch Formes. But he was suddenly interrupted by the Diamond Peacock nearly decapitating him as it spun through the air like a whirling star, having been thrown by the North Wind with deadly force. He barely managed to dodge it, but was subsequently left in his Agility Forme with the North Wind bearing down on him like a rampaging elephant.

_Wait a second, _he thought suddenly, _the North Wind just threw the Diamond Peacock at me! Which means he's currently unarmed! I can take him now!_

Jiraiya turned and somersaulted over where he anticipated the North Wind would keep moving too, turning once more as he landed, trying to land a hit to his opponent's back. However, his plan was unsuccessful, as his opponent was much faster than he had believed, already ready to counterattack.

However, Jiraiya didn't even land the expected hit, as just before he attacked, he noticed with shock that the North Wind was, at the moment, holding not one, but _two_ Diamond Peacocks. Luckily, his Agility Formes blessed him with the reflexes needed to stop his attack mid-motion and retreat.

Deciding that he could spare enough time to look backwards, he glanced to where the North Wind had thrown the Diamond Peacock earlier. It wasn't there.

"What, surprised?" asked the North Wind mockingly after seeing the movement, "My Diamond Peacock is a chakra construct… _of course _I can create as many as I have the chakra for."

As if to demonstrate the point, he flipped the one in his right hand into the air, where it promptly disappeared, before four identical copies appeared in its place, still spinning with dangerous momentum. Each of them sank into the ground without stopping, sliding down endlessly, leaving only a thin chasm to mark their presence.

"By the way, the Diamond Peacock isn't only just a blade, you know. I can create anything I want with its supreme cutting edge. That's how I managed to keep up with your speed. I assume you're using some sort of speed-enhancing Forme from your Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows, and although I _am _quite fast, I can't hope to catch up to you. However, by replicating the Diamond Peacock as a shroud instead of a blade on my limbs, the air resistance my body takes is reduced by a massive amount."

The North Wind lifted his forearm, where, sure enough, an inconspicuous white glow was emitting. He then swung it through the air, and it moved so fast it seemed like it teleported.

"Now," he said with a confident smirk, "Even if you _are _one of Konoha's legendary Sannin, you _cannot _stand up to the mighty Diamond Peacock. Your annoying Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows doesn't have any tricks that can counter _this."_

Jiraiya ignored the banter. He had used the short reprieve to discreetly change to Weapon Forme, and had already rolled up his left sleeve behind his back. Also, his free hand had begun to collect various shinobi tools from a number of places around his body. Although in Weapon Forme the act of finding and drawing a weapon was almost automatic, the number of weapons someone could have on his person at one time was limited. And because the Weapon Forme was capable of volleying hundreds of projectiles at once, it was easy to run out of weapons before you knew it.

Being well aware of this weakness (having experienced the phenomenon several times and only managing to escape each time with his life using a hasty Forme change), Jiraiya had taken to sealing entire stockpiles of weapons on his body and clothes via fuuinjutsu. However, his Weapon Forme lacked the chakra control to unseal them efficiently, which could be a problem in a high-level fight.

Even so, because he did not plan on using projectile weapons much (he doubted he could get them past the North Wind's super-fast Diamond Peacock), he now gathered them with abandon. Ridiculous numbers of kunai, shuriken and senbon were grasped in his suddenly flexible fingers, and the ones that didn't fit were shoved into his sleeve.

While ninja wire was also an important part of his arsenal as part of Weapon Forme, the sharpness of the Diamond Peacock rendered it useless, so Jiraiya neglected to touch it, actually having to make a conscious decision to force his relentless fingers avoid gathering it up.

So when the North Wind stopped talking and was about to resume his assault, Jiraiya was ready to take the initiative from underneath him. He immediately flung out his right arm, and the literal rain of metal showered down upon the unfortunate Suna nin, blasting down on him like so many angry hornets.

However, the North Wind was not an S-class shinobi for nothing. Instead of trying to dodge the massive hail of steel with his Diamond Peacock-enhanced speed, he instead leapt towards the flying death.

But before he was about to be impaled countless times by the kunai and shuriken, he abruptly turned in the air, a sudden gust of strong wind appearing in tandem with the movement. What happened next was could not be seen, as the action was much too chaotic. But the _sound _that had been produced provided a huge clue to what had occurred. Instead of the expected _thwump_ of defenceless meat being pierced or the clanging of deflected metal, what was heard was instead a weird whooshing sound, like the hollow sound of a flexible cane being swung through the air.

This continued for about ten seconds, before Jiraiya's initial weapon barrage ended. And the white haired shinobi could only stare in shock... because the North Wind was completely unscathed.

Said shinobi was crouching down amid a small forest of broken ninja tools, all effortlessly sliced through into many small fragments. But now, in addition to the two Diamond Peacocks he had held in his hands, numerous other arrow-shaped blades were sticking out of various parts of his body.

Jiraiya surmised that the North Wind had probably used a wind jutsu (he _was _a Suna ninja, after all) to spin himself in the air, where his Diamond Peacock could destroy all incoming damage.

He clicked his tongue before leaping at the stationary opponent, his hands blurring into motion. He still had a few more tricks to try, after all.

* * *

The North Wind smirked as he contemptuously kicked away the pieces of scrap metal that littered the ground at his feet. However, his happy expression soon faded as he realised something.

The destroyed remains of the weapons carpeted the ground around his feet like grass, so much that he couldn't even move without likely impaling his own feet. Although he could apply Diamond Peacock to his body in order to move faster and attack people, if he used it on his feet, he would just sink through the ground.

"Tch," he hissed and cast a minor wind jutsu to clear it away a bit.

Although he _did _know some wind and utility jutsu, the North Wind disliked using anything that wasn't his signature move. The Diamond Peacock was something that he viewed as the pinnacle of his skill, and the very thing that allowed him to carve his name into the history books.

So annoyed was he that he almost missed when Jiraiya leapt upon him, his arms drawn back to strike a decisive strike. However, he was still an S-class shinobi, and the Diamond Peacock Shroud on his arms allowed him to snap them into a defensive stance much faster than Jiraiya could bring his own arms down.

_And even if he _does_ have more power in this position, _he thought gleefully, _the fact that I'm blocking with my Diamond Peacock means that any weapon he has will be sliced in half immediately. Even kinetic force can be sliced with my Diamond Peacock. I cannot lose!_

_Wham! _With a strike like lightning, a heavy impact shuddered down the North Wind's arm, which couldn't bear the force. He was slammed into the ground, all the breath forced out of him. To make matters worse, as he fell, the Diamond Peacock in his hand had glanced across his leg, and now it was… half amputated. Mere skin and flesh and bone could not withstand the supreme knife-edge of the wind, and as a result, the North Wind now sported a huge, perfectly straight wedge cut out of his leg.

He stared at the mutilated limb in shock and disbelief and his mouth involuntarily opened to scream before his battle-hardened instincts warned him that Jiraiya was likely going for a killing blow now that he was distracted.

Quickly, he burst pure wind chakra beneath him, launching himself away from his opponent while restraining the urge to scream. His Aerial Acrobatics wasn't that refined, but he had enough control over it to direct himself over to a tree.

Staggering as he landed, he leant up against the sturdy wood, trying to block out the pain while figuring out what went wrong. His eyes travelled up Jiraiya's form, before alighting on the source of his newfound strength.

Jiraiya, seeing his once-cocky opponent's scrutiny, smirked as he raised the item which had given him the power to defy the Diamond Peacock's unparalleled edge.

"Yes? Oh, I guess I should explain," he said, "This is one half of the Hakai no Tsuin'akkusu- the Twin Axes of Destruction. Its name is Shoumetsu, and it is the Great Axe of Annihilation. It will not be sliced by your Diamond Peacock. That is all you need to know."

He raised the giant bronze axe and swung it through the air, aiming at his opponent.

The North Wind bared his teeth in a defiant snarl as he raised his own blade to block it. Although it could not cut, the Diamond Peacock was sturdy enough to block a couple of hits.

He parried one massive cleaving blow from the axe and deflected another. However, his free hand soon materialised a second blade, as he could already feel the effects of the sheer power that each stroke of the Great Axe held. He fended off yet another giant hammering strike before he realised something.

Because of the axe's weight, Jiraiya's attacks, albeit powerful, lacked speed. In contrast, the Diamond Peacock's own weightlessness and air-rending speed bonus meant that he could strike in between blocks. Although he was currently leaning against a tree to take the weight off his injured leg, the North Wind was confident that it would hold for one more thrust.

He subtly shifted his weight while repelling another sweep and then, with decisive power, thrust directly at Jiraiya's unprotected chest, leaping to be as close as possible to his opponent, to make sure he ran him through completely.

Even as he jumped, the North Wind could feel a triumphant smile spread across his face. He knew such a speedy strike couldn't be blocked while you were off-balance on the off-swing of a deflected weapon. Jiraiya couldn't possibly block such an attack- he didn't have time.

The North Wind revelled in the liberating feeling of his weightless thrust fly through the air. The very atmosphere parted before the Diamond Peacock. No resistance could possibly be thrown up… not even the body of a legendary Sannin posed any type obstacle to the blade that sliced through everything.

_Wait a second, _thought the North Wind with a surprised thought, _even if it _is _the Diamond Peacock, it shouldn't have felt that light…_

It was not until he spied a severed arm flying through the air from an unseen slash did he truly realise why it had been weightless.

_Impossible! _he thought, _I didn't see him swing at all!_

That was all that had time to run through his head before the very physical blade of Shoumetsu cleanly cleft through both his legs, sending him tumbling to the ground.

The North Wind's thoughts were in disarray. The strikes had been too clean and too fast for him to register the fact that the only limb he had left was his left arm. The pain had not yet set in, and the only clue to him having lost a huge percentage of his body was the dizzying numbness that fizzled at the stumps of where his limbs had been previously.

Despite the fact that disbelief was slowly, _ever so slowly, _slipping through his mind, the North Wind still had his pride and dignity as an S-class shinobi. His remaining arm snapped up, and a huge, crescent shaped wave erupted out, the signature glowing white hue of the Diamond Peacock shimmering without it.

But Jiraiya effortlessly dodged out of the way with an inhuman leap and almost casually swung Shoumetsu, even though he was nowhere near his enemy. Which is why the North Wind gaped in horror as his remaining wrist seemingly detached from his forearm of its own accord, the blood spraying out almost as an afterthought.

Then the blunt side of Shoumetsu slammed into his skull, sending him into unconsciousness, thankfully before the pain set in.

Meanwhile, Jiraiya resealed Shoumetsu with a sigh, stretching out as he did so. His back let out an audible crack and he hissed. His Senjutsu Forme, which allowed him to manipulate the natural chakra that surrounded everything was the reason why he had pulled off such a surprising win. Its limited precognitive ability allowed him to sense the thrust and dodge accordingly, and then counterattack with the natural energy left in the wake of Shoumetsu's swing.

The Senjutsu Forme also allowed him to collect and store nature chakra without staying still (as would normally be required) for a limit of five minutes at a time, but this instance didn't require enough senjutsu to fill a full Sage Mode. However, it laid great stress on the muscles, and Jiraiya always felt extremely stiff after using it for any period of time.

But thinking of the situation at hand, Jiraiya bent down, pulling out a scroll as he did so.

Although he was well within his rights to execute the somehow still alive North Wind, perhaps it would be better for Konoha if it had a couple of bargaining chips with Suna… it was better than a hostile relationship, especially since Konoha was still recovering from the Kyuubi attack.

Jiraiya efficiently tried to seal away the North Wind without exacerbating the wounds the unconscious enemy had. Although the Transportation Seal would hold his body in stasis, if he died before hand, it was too late. Better to be careful than sorry.

However, Jiraiya was more pre-occupied about whether his sensei had bothered to leave any of his own enemies alive to worry about the safety of the North Wind.

* * *

Jiraiya walked through back into the clearing, nonchalantly tapping the scroll that held the North Wind against his thigh as he walked. When he entered, he raised an eyebrow at the scene in front of him.

Hiruzen was sitting on a pile of defeated Suna ANBUs, having stacked them all haphazardly after knocking them unconscious. He was twirling a short half-staff absentmindedly while listening to the South Wind's heartfelt apologies, who was bowing repeatedly from the waist as he did so.

Jiraiya cleared his throat.

"Where's the West Wind?" he asked.

The South Wind, upon noticing his arrival, immediately turned and opened his mouth, presumably to start apologizing to him. Hiruzen raised a palm quickly to stop him.

"Please, Minami-dono. It was of no fault of your own. You don't need to keep apologising. And Jiraiya-kun, the West Wind is in a very safe location."

Saying this, he held up a scroll, similar to the one Jiraiya himself held.

"Oh, okay," Jiraiya acknowledged, handing his own scroll to his superior to hold on to, "Where's Naruto?"

"Well, _our_ ANBU arrived about halfway through the battle and started engaging the Suna ones. With them out of the way I could take care of the West Wind without trouble. And without the Winds of Change controlling him, Minami-dono peacefully surrendered. He was outnumbered and outgunned, anyway. Anyway, I got one of the ANBU to take Naruto home."

"Are you sure that's wise, sensei? Some people don't exactly _like _Naruto, you know. He's been attacked before, both by civilians and ninja alike. He's gotten smart enough to avoid most of the attempts, but his body is kind of bad, and sometimes he just _can't _get away."

"Well, Jiraiya-kun, I think I _trust _the ANBU corps enough not to make silly assumptions and to do foolish things such as attacking one they explicitly know is close to me. I think they are mature enough for that. Don't you agree Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya shivered as he saw a flicker of unrelenting steel shoot through his sensei's gaze, showing absolutely no tolerance to those who would cross him.

"Yes," he said with an uncertain smile, "They'd definitely know better."

_I hope… _he added mentally, actually scared of what might happen if Hiruzen Sarutobi actually got truly enraged while in close proximity with civilians. Too much work had been poured into rebuilding Konoha for it to be destroyed again.

* * *

Meanwhile, Naruto sat in his room, trembling. However, this time, instead of the cause being his body's tendency to do so, it was instead because of what he had just witnessed.

_Such tremendous power wielded so casually, _he thought in awe.

Naruto placed a hand against his chest in order to calm his still-racing heart as he recalled the breath-taking speed and skill with which his superiors fought. It had been so confusing, but at the same time; Naruto, ever the opportunist, had tried to analyse as many of the techniques that had been used as he could.

Who could tell what might be useful in the future? Maybe he could adapt some of the principles into a couple of his own techniques to improve them.

Suddenly, a knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.

"W-who is it?" he asked in surprise.

"It's me, Naruto-kun," came the reassuringly calm bass tone of the Hokage.

"A-ah, yes. I'll just unlock the door," Naruto said.

But before he could get up, the door gave a soft click and opened of its own accord.

"No need, Naruto-kun," said the Hokage as he stepped through.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. There were three separate locks, two bolts and a number of chains attached to the front door. It was almost inconceivable that someone could dismantle all the security measures in such a small time frame. However, he decided not to say anything of it, reaffirming to himself that, as shown just a few hours before, Hiruzen Sarutobi was capable of a lot more than one would usually expect from someone of his age.

"Anyway," continued the Hokage, "I just came to ask you if you are okay… you know, its not everyday that a… what… eight-year old-"

"Five, actually."

Hiruzen scratched the back of his head ruefully, with an embarrassed chuckle on his lips.

"Wow… only five? I could have sworn you were older… but anyway! As I was saying, it's not everyday that a five-year old sees a life-threatening battle between S-classes right in front of his bloody eyes! Are you okay, Naruto?"

Naruto's lips curled in a slight smile.

"I'm fine, Hokage-sama. You know me, I'm not the sort of person to be affected by something that should become commonplace to the daily life of a shinobi."

Hiruzen leaned in close to peer closely into Naruto's own bloodshot eyes, a deathly serious expression on his face.

"Listen to me, Naruto. Death should _never _become commonplace. Even if you're fighting for your life, killing an opponent is not something to be taken lightly. I've experienced each of the Great Shinobi Wars and every second of those bloody years was filled with the stench of blood. It's not an experience easily forgotten. I hope you never have to go through something like that yourself. Even if it's _you, _the impact of seeing death might really affect your subconscious, even if you aren't aware of it," he said in a grave tone.

Naruto only nodded. It was a possibility that had occurred to him, but he had neglected to dwell on it, because nothing of the sort had yet happened, and why waste time and concentration wasting time on something that may or may not happen when his intellect could be spent on more pressing matters?

"Even I," continued the wizened old veteran, "am affected by the constant threat of death that hangs over my head. All the battles and wars I've fought… the toll all the years have taken on my body and chakra is enormous. What you saw in that battle just then is about the limit of what I can do now. And even that battle started to reopen up some of the old battle scars that litter my body. I'm getting older, Naruto, and weaker. Death quickly comes to claim my soul. There are so many people that are stronger than me in the Elemental Nations. And those are only human. Much more terrible things inhabit this world, Naruto, things like the Kyuubi- terrible demons… and above even them, the Pantheon. Don't ask me who they are, as even an old man like me doesn't know. They might be good, they might be bad, but all I know is that they possess powers so far out of mortal comprehension that it scares even the Kyuubi.

…but enough of the depressing talk."

Hiruzen, serious speech over, now gave a wide smile.

"Alright. Good news. Because of the… ah… _difficulties _earlier, I managed to persuade my secretary to let me have the rest of the day off. Also, Minami-dono... oh, he's one of the Five Winds of Suna, who me and Jiraiya-kun just-"

"I know who he is. He's in the Bingo Book."

"Oh, right, okay. Well, he took his "comrades" back to Suna. He said that the delegation had been a failure, and Suna's terms would be scrapped. He'll be back later, though, with a revised copy of the arrangement. So… I've got some free time on my hands. Anyway… how about we carry out the ritual for Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows here and now? You busy?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"You can do that in my apartment?" he asked incredulously, not believing that such an important technique could be performed impromptu.

"Well, there's a funny story in that. Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows technically doesn't need to be "initiated" as I'm about to do here. But it's a lot safer, which, as you know, is _better _in any matter concerning mental jutsu. Also, you are a… let's say, '_special' _case, and we can't risk doing anything to the seal that binds the Kyuubi, after all."

He gave a nervous laugh and continued his explanation.

"But true, the initiation ceremony is usually carried out by three jounin-class or higher shinobi with an existing Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows. But that's just for chakra and concentration problems, and as the Hokage, I think I'm more than qualified to fill in for three jounins.

It's also usually carried out in a special fuuinjutsu chamber dedicated to Splitting Leaves, Flying Shadows. There are a number of them all over the village, but if you get a reasonably proficient user of fuuinjutsu like me, you can get by without it."

Naruto almost jumped for joy, but his mind was already thinking up the worst-case scenario.

"Have you thought about what will happen if the ritual agitates the Kyuubi?"

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow.

"Please, Naruto, have a little faith. Even if it _is _the Kyuubi, your father's seal will hold strong. He _was _the Fourth Hokage, after all."

* * *

Naruto shivered as a cold breeze caressed his bare skin. He was currently sitting on the floor of his apartment wearing only a pair of shorts. Despite how cold he felt, he didn't dare try and move from his cross-legged position for fear of disturbing the delicate-looking black marks that covered his body.

The fuuinjutsu that covered his body had been applied only a few minutes ago, but had seemingly already dried, but Naruto still didn't want to take the risk. To keep his mind off the temptation, he watched Hiruzen painstakingly inscribe a similar set of seals on his own body with the help of a mirror.

Finally, the old man finished up and put aside the sealing brush with a flourish.

"Okay," he said, "done."

He offered Naruto his hand, which the boy questioningly took.

And with a roar of chakra, the seals on both of their bodies lit up in a glorious light display. Naruto's eyes widened as the hard-earned control over his chakra disappeared into nothingness, and energy started to flare off of him like flickers of flame. The seals on his body glowed a blindingly bright blue and pierced through the early evening gloom like a beacon.

Across from him, the Hokage's seals radiated in a similar manner, although instead of the strong, pure azure of his own, they instead shone with prismatic brilliance, dancing with every colour of the rainbow.

The Hokage raised his free hand slowly, and then tapped Naruto's forehead with it, his finger pressed firmly against the centre of the boy's brow. At that moment, _something _slipped through Naruto's mind, a darting quicksilver flicker of thoughts and emotions.

Despite his attempts to try and grasp and comprehend it, it remained elusively out of reach. Idly, he noticed that a barrier made of chakra had formed around them, a seeming prison of light that wasn't quite opaque or translucent, instead possessing a texture that reminded one of the way artists attempt to recreate the untouchable sky in their earthly paintings.

Then, Naruto shuddered as an onslaught of _persona _struck him. There was simply nothing else to describe it. A slice of Hiruzen's very being resonated within his mind, and, at the forefront of the sensation was the twenty-five different Formes that each uniquely made their impact on his young mind.

Power swirled around in his mind, and his chakra spiralled rapidly in strange incomprehensible patterns. The seals on his body crawled and moved all around his body- an itchy, yet energizing experience.

How long these confusing and conflicting phenomena went on, Naruto couldn't tell. His senses had blurred out long ago, blinded by the thrilling rush of energy. In this state, he could barely tell left from right or up from down, but it seemed to him like he was no longer in his apartment.

He was lying on something soft and warm, but he couldn't turn his head to see what it was. His vision was still fragmented by the dazzling spectral colours of Hiruzen's chakra, the brilliant afterglow of the seals dancing in his eyes.

However, even in the midst of such overpowering sensations, he felt the soft, delicate touch of something on his face. _Was that someone's fingers? _Naruto couldn't perceive anything past the radiant curtain of energy, except a hint of vivid crimson.

But he stopped thinking about it when Hiruzen's voice, somehow simultaneously otherworldly and piercing, cut through to his very core.

"**Naruto. Listen to me. The ceremony is nearly finished. Now I just need you to repeat these words after me… you got it? This is the last part."**

Naruto heard the words, and struggled to comprehend it. It took about a second for the words to register but then everything became crystal clear to him. He nodded, even though he had no way of knowing if Hiruzen could see him. The dizzying energy continued to swirl around him, but Naruto managed to hold onto his wits, holding strong onto the steadfast pillar of determination and pure stubbornness that was an integral part of his character.

He heard the words, still with that strange phantom-like tone to them, and began to repeat them, passion and determination colouring every word he spoke.

"_We are the Leaves: shinobi of Konoha who bear its insignia on our brow. We are the Shadows: shinobi of Konoha whose dark deeds sink us into the night."_

As he spoke, Naruto seemed to register a voice that spoke concurrently with him. It was a soft, melodious voice that seemed to suggest flutes and wind chimes, but it only accompanied his own rough words as an undercurrent, acting only as the harmony in their lonely performance.

He didn't question it, as although he was positive he had not heard that voice before in his life, it seemed very familiar to him, as if it had been a part of him from as soon as the moment he was born.

Together, the two voices continued the pledge, following the wizened leader who guided them through a rite he had carried out countless times before.

"_The Will of Fire burns within us. We find the strength to split our very selves in order to embrace the darkness of that night. We are the split leaves… we are the flying shadows." _

* * *

Hiruzen looked up from the book he was reading as he heard Naruto stir. The boy had passed out after the ritual, which wasn't surprising, and Hiruzen had dutifully carried him back to his bed.

Because he still had quite a bit of time before he was required to tend to the backlog of paperwork that was sure to have been accumulating in his absence, Hiruzen had decided to just wait until Naruto woke up again to see if there were any adverse effects from the ceremony. Knowing Naruto's ridiculous recovery rate, he likely wouldn't have to wait long anyway.

Sure enough, within an hour, Naruto had started showing signs that he was about to wake up. Instead of the motionless calm of unconsciousness, he had begun to move around slightly and make noises, almost like he was merely asleep.

Hiruzen gave a silent sigh of relief as he watched the boy sit up and blearily rub at his eyes. It seemed like everything was fine and the ritual had gone on through without a hitch.

But then, that illusion was shattered in an instant.

Naruto looked up, saw him, and then broke out into the biggest, sunniest smile that Hiruzen had ever seen him pull.

"Jii-chan!" he yelled joyfully and he leapt from the bed and wrapped the surprised old man in a powerful bear hug.

Here were a couple more firsts. Naruto _never _showed such dramatic bursts of emotion. He also never referred to Hiruzen in such a familiar manner. It seemed more like something Kushina would do…

Hiruzen belatedly wrapped his own arms around the boy, chuckling ruefully all the while.

"Oh dear," he said half to himself, "What have I done?"

But despite those words, the enormous smile on his aged face was only matched by the one on the face of the child in front of him- a child, who had been, for all intents and purposes, repressed for five years.

But now… now, that child was free.

And the sky was the limit.

* * *

Thanks to MisterKuma for beta-reading this chapter, yeah. He's been a great help, even though all he wants to do is get out of Bronze in LoL. I'm sure he'll make it eventually, the poor sod.


	13. Chapter 13

Hey guys!

Sadly this isn't another chapter. Nope, sorry, but it's actually some (maybe) important news.

Okay, so recently, a reviewer told me my story is, quote, 'a failure [-] a complete and utter failure'. He went on to suggest that it would be in my best interest to rewrite it, and that maybe it wouldn't be quite so terrible if I were to change the way I approach the pace and method of my story.

So I've decided to go 'fuck all' and take his advice.

…

Or I _would have_ if I had the dedication or patience to do so.

No- instead of a complete _rewrite, _I think I'll go for more of a more compromising _rework._

Because I'm a lazy son of a bitch, I'm going to try and keep as many already written chapters the same as possible. I'll just shift them up a bit... or something.

I think the main problem is my overly long and tedious introduction.

I've had several reviewers tell me much the same, so I'll probably scrap that whole section, although I can't guarantee it won't rear its ugly head later on.

I'll probably keep the first two chapters, though.

So the next couple of weeks will be tumultuous for this story.

I'll be deleting a couple of chapters, adding some, replacing others… and… stuff…

I'll also need to be frantically rereading and planning and writing, so don't expect anything too quickly.

Also, if you're a fan of Remnant (my other story), I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait until I'm finished sorting this mess out before you get your next chapter. This will probably be my top priority in terms of fanfiction at the moment. Well… because I have three chapters in reserve, I might give one up as a peace offering, but don't expect anything.

Oh yeah, for those people who feel my writing is a little heavy on the descriptions, sorry, but that's how I write. Sometimes I realize what I'm doing, and make a conscious effort to propel the story in some meaningful direction, but I need to reiterate that I don't have a long term plan, and I'm just writing… because… well… dunno. No reason in particular.

Anyways, hopefully I'll get my act together and I can get this broken show on the road in the near future.

Regards,

-ChickenGodofDOOM


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